USPTO Seeks Feedback on Lawyer Discipline Forms
Published Date: 3/11/2025
Notice
Summary
The USPTO is asking for public feedback on how it collects info about the behavior and discipline of patent and trademark lawyers and agents. This update affects anyone who represents others before the USPTO and aims to keep professional conduct clear and fair. Comments are open until May 12, 2025, with no new fees involved—just a chance to help shape the rules!
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
Reinstatement petition fee for suspended practitioners
Practitioners who file a petition for reinstatement under 37 CFR 11.60(c) must pay a filing fee of $1,806 per petition. The USPTO estimates 3 such petitions annually, totaling $5,418 in filing fees per year.
Practitioners must keep client property records
If you represent others before the USPTO, you must keep complete records of client funds, securities, and other client property and render accounts as required by 37 CFR part 11. The USPTO estimates 51,951 practitioners will spend 1 hour each on routine recordkeeping (total $23,222,097) and 286 practitioners under suspension or exclusion will spend 20 hours each on recordkeeping (total $2,556,840), for combined recordkeeping hours of 57,671 and a combined cost of $25,778,937.
Overall paperwork burden and estimated costs
The information collection covers reporting and recordkeeping under the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct and applies to individuals or households representing others before the USPTO. The USPTO estimates 52,411 annual respondents and responses, 58,187 total annual burden hours, an estimated total annual respondent hourly cost burden of $26,009,589, and total annual non-hour costs of $5,440 (including filing fees and postage).
Public comment opportunity on information collection
The USPTO requests public comments on this information collection and will accept comments on or before May 12, 2025. Anyone affected (practitioners representing others before the USPTO) may submit feedback via email, the Federal eRulemaking Portal, or mail.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
2026-19613, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) Actions
The USPTO is asking for public feedback on its paperwork rules for the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). This helps make sure the forms are easy to use and don’t waste anyone’s time. If you’re involved in trademarks, now’s your chance to comment before October 26, 2026, with no new fees or big changes planned.
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2026-17525, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Substantive Submissions Made During the Prosecution of the Trademark Application
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter "USPTO" or "Agency"), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651-0054 (Substantive Submissions Made During the Prosecution of the Trademark Application). The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comments preceding submission of the information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
2026-17524, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Appeals
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter "USPTO" or "Agency") will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The USPTO invites comments on the information collection renewal of 0651-0063, which helps the USPTO assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden to the public. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on April 20, 2026, during a 60-day comment period (91 FR 20986). This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
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