A Navy engineer who also served as an attorney for private clients before the US Patent and Trademark Office failed to convince the Federal Circuit that his First Amendment rights were violated when the agency temporarily banned his legal practice.
The PTO said attorney Kevin P. Correll breached rules that say federal employees can’t represent private clients at the patent office.
The government’s interest in avoiding the appearance of impropriety outweighs the burden that the suspension has on Correll, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Friday in a nonprecedential opinion.
A district court didn’t abuse ...