Patent Office Updating Conduct Rules to Better Meet ABA Standard

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is proposing to update its professional conduct rules to more closely align with American Bar Association guidelines.

The PTO Rules of Professional Conduct overhaul, the first since 2013, would match “widely-adopted revisions to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct,” according to an agency Federal Register notice set to publish Thursday.

The planned revision shows the patent office wants to ease the process for practitioners who work across different legal venues. The rules apply to lawyers who practice in PTO proceedings.

“Updating the PTO regulations is important such that there is a consistency between ...