Patent Law

USPTO issues warning about outsourcing patent applications

By Lawrence B. Ebert, Esq.

The USPTO posted a warning in the Federal Register about using foreign patent prosecution companies. Under 15 CFR 730-744, technology exports are subject to government approval by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the Department of Commerce. If caught sending your software patent application to a cut-rate prosecution shop in Bangalore, you will be spanked and your patent yanked.

IPBiz notes typically, the problem has been with the preparation, in India and elsewhere, of patent applications to be filed in the United States, which are subsequently signed by registered attorney/agents in the US. Whether or not this practice runs afoul of US law was debated on "Greedy IP" years ago. It is interesting that something finally appeared in the Federal Register in the year 2008, after India is running a land-office business.

Full post as published by IPBiz on July 24, 2008 (boomark / email).