Patent Ethics Prosecution

CONTENTS......Page 8
ABOUT THE AUTHORS......Page 14
CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the Subject Matter......Page 16
A. The Basic Grant of Authority......Page 20
1. Patent Attorneys......Page 21
2. Patent Agents......Page 22
3. Validity, Infringement, and Other Opinions and Evaluations......Page 24
A. Basic Choice of Law......Page 26
B. Standards Applicable During Prosecution......Page 29
1. Office of Enrollment and Discipline......Page 30
2. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Disqualification......Page 31
C. Preemption by the Patent and Trademark Office Code of Professional Conduct......Page 32
D. Federal Circuit Choice of Law......Page 34
E. Conclusion on Choice of Law......Page 36
F. Special Choice of Law Issues Facing Patent Agents......Page 37
A. Client Identity......Page 40
1. Inventors......Page 41
2. Business Entities......Page 46
1. The Law......Page 52
C. Scope of the Representation......Page 54
1. Standards Governing Prospective Consent......Page 55
CHAPTER 5 Loyalty and Current Client Conflicts of Interest......Page 60
A. The Patent and Trademark Office Code of Professional Conduct and Analogous State Law......Page 62
B. The Meaning of “Adversity” and “Differing Interests”......Page 63
C. The Meaning of “Material Limitations”......Page 66
1. Problems Created by Priority......Page 67
E. The Conflict Created by the Right to Exclude......Page 74
F. Information: Liability and Conflict......Page 75
G. Additional Possible Prosecution Conflicts......Page 76
1. Prosecution Problems......Page 77
3. Lateral Hires......Page 78
I. Conclusion......Page 79
A. The Three Principal Prohibitions......Page 80
1. The Substantial Relationship Test......Page 81
2. Disqualification for Possession of Confidences......Page 84
3. Challenging or Interpreting Work Product......Page 85
B. Examples of Former Client Conflicts......Page 86
CHAPTER 7 Competency in Patent Prosecution......Page 88
A. Introduction......Page 89
1. Patent, Trade Secret, Copyright, Trademark, or a Combination......Page 90
C. Which Type of Patent or Other Form of Protection to Use?......Page 92
D. Which Type of Claim: Process, Product, or Product-by-Process?......Page 93
E. Which Form(s) of Claim?......Page 94
F. Definiteness......Page 95
G. Drafting Claims as Broadly as Practicable......Page 96
H. Drafting Claims to Avoid Unnecessary Amendment......Page 98
I. Appealing Improper Rejections......Page 99
J. Being Clear and Precise in Claims and Specification......Page 100
1. Best Mode......Page 102
2. Written Description......Page 103
3. Enabling Disclosure......Page 104
1. The Basic Requirement......Page 105
2. Special Issues Concerning Joint Inventors......Page 107
M. Responding to Office Actions......Page 113
N. Meeting Deadlines and Prosecuting Diligently......Page 114
O. Handing-Off or Giving Notice of the Maintenance Fee Obligation......Page 115
P. Using Continuation-in-Part Applications to Obtain Earlier Filing Dates When Proper......Page 116
CHAPTER 8 The Duty of Candor and Inequitable Conduct......Page 118
1. Preemption of State Law......Page 120
2. First Principles of Inequitable Conduct......Page 126
3. Materiality Is Not Limited to the Circumstances Specified in Rule 1.56......Page 127
B. Knowledge of the Information Is Not Necessarily Required: The Duty to Investigate May Exist, but Imputation Should Not Apply......Page 131
C. Knowledge That the Information Is Material Is Not Necessarily Required......Page 138
D. Intent to Deceive May Be Inferred......Page 140
1. Whose Knowledge Counts?......Page 142
2. When Must Information Be Disclosed?......Page 143
1. Nondisclosure of Prior Art......Page 144
2. Submitted but Buried Material Information......Page 146
3. Submitted but Mischaracterized References......Page 148
4. Misleading Translations of Foreign-Language Prior Art References......Page 150
6. Test Data......Page 154
7. Relationships between Declarants and Applicants......Page 158
8. Section 112 Requirements......Page 159
9. Prior Sales......Page 161
10. Co-Pending Applications......Page 163
11. Rejection of Substantially Similar Claims by Another Examiner......Page 165
12. McKesson Disclosure Statements......Page 166
13. Existence of and Information Gleaned from Ongoing Litigation......Page 168
14. Misrepresentations of Information Relating to Inventorship......Page 170
15. Misclaiming Priority of Disclosure......Page 172
16. Maintenance Fees, Small Entity Status, and Inequitable Conduct......Page 173
17. Petitions to Reinstate......Page 174
19. Reexamination......Page 175
CHAPTER 9 Maintenance Fees and Annuities......Page 178
A. Maintenance Fees......Page 179
B. Other Issues......Page 181
CHAPTER 10 Combining Prosecution with Other Forms of Representation......Page 182
A. Identifying the Applicable Standards......Page 183
1. The Possibility of Misuse of Discovery Materials While Prosecuting Applications......Page 184
2. In re Sibia......Page 187
3. The Majority View......Page 191
4. A Suggested Analysis......Page 195
C. A Proposed Prosecution Bar Raises Potential Conflicts and Liability......Page 197
D. Issues to Consider in Crafting Protective Orders......Page 201
1. Liability and Disqualification of Prosecuting Litigators......Page 205
E. Inequitable Conduct as a Conflict......Page 206
F. Depositions of Prosecuting Litigators......Page 207
1. Advocate-as-Witness Disqualification......Page 209
1. Advocate-as-Witness Disqualification......Page 212
2. Enhanced Risk of Waiver of Work Product......Page 216
H. Conclusion......Page 224
APPENDIX 1 Annotated Patent and Trademark Office Code of Professional Conduct......Page 226
APPENDIX 2 Forms and Checklists......Page 298
APPENDIX 3 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office—Office of Enrollment and Discipline Decisions......Page 322
APPENDIX 4 Correlation Tables......Page 348
TABLE OF CASES......Page 360
B......Page 376
C......Page 377
E......Page 378
I......Page 379
M......Page 380
N......Page 119
O......Page 381
P......Page 382
R......Page 384
U......Page 385
W......Page 386