By: Naoko Koyano, Ph.D., Executive Editor, Cybaris, Vol. 15
On May 16, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a notice announcing a change in the admission criteria for registration to practice in Patent cases, effective immediately.[1]
The USPTO has an authority to require technical background for patent practitioners that they possess “the necessary qualifications to render applicants or other persons valuable service, advice, and assistance in the presentation or prosecution of their applications or other business before the Office.”[2] As such, the USPTO requires that a patent practitioner (a patent attorney or a patent agent) has to pass a registration exam. The Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) publishes a General Requirements Bulletin that describes categories A–C to be eligible to take the registration exam.[3]
Category A lists Technical Subjects of a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree or a doctor of philosophy degree that are recognized for the exam eligibility. Previously the only acceptable computer science degree under Category A was a bachelor’s degree from a program accredited by the Computer Science Accreditation Commission of the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board or by the Computing Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The new rule removes the requirement that computer science degrees be accredited by ABET in order to be considered under Category A, and instead accept all Bachelor of Science in computer science degrees from accredited colleges or universities. This opens up the eligibility to become a patent practitioner to many computer science majors, who otherwise needed to take extra credits in recognized technological areas to be eligible for the patent registration exam.
[1] Expanding Admission Criteria for Registration to Practice in Patent Cases Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Federal Register 88 FR 31249 (Docket No. PTO-P-2022-0027) available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-05-16/pdf/2023-10409.pdf.
[2] 35 U.S.C. § 2(b)(2)(D).
[3] General Requirements Bulletin for Admission to the Examination for Registration to Practice in Patent Cases before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, available at https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/OED_GRB.pdf (last visited May 26, 2023).