Guidelines

See MPEP § 402.07 for revocation of a power attorney by the assignee. Form PTO/SB/81 may be used to revoke a power of attorney in an application filed before September 16, 2012. See also MPEP § 402.02(b).

If the power of attorney was granted by the originally named inventive entity and an added inventor pursuant to § 1.48  does not provide a power of attorney consistent with the power of attorney granted by the originally named inventive entity, the addition of the inventor results in the loss of that power of attorney upon grant of the § 1.48  request. This provision does not preclude a practitioner from acting pursuant to 37 CFR 1.34, if applicable. See MPEP § 402.04 for information pertaining to acting in a representative capacity.

When an original power of attorney is filed giving power of attorney to attorneys A, B, and C, and the same principal subsequently files another power of attorney, giving power of attorney to D without revoking all prior powers of attorney, the subsequently filed power of attorney will be treated as a revocation of the original power of attorney. Similarly, if the applicant signed the original power of attorney, and an assignee of the entire interest of the applicant later takes action and files a new power of attorney, the original power of attorney is revoked and replaced by the power of attorney filed by the assignee. In addition, if a power of attorney is given to the practitioners associated with a Customer Number, and a (second) power of attorney is later received giving power of attorney to patent practitioners associated with a different Customer Number, the second power of attorney will be processed, with the first Customer Number being replaced with the second. The power of attorney to the practitioners associated with the first Customer Number is automatically revoked in this situation. In all of these situations, the most recently filed power of attorney will control.

A nonsigning inventor may subsequently join in a pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47  application by submitting an oath or declaration under pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.63. However, even if the nonsigning inventor joins in the application, he or she cannot revoke or give a power of attorney without agreement of the pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47   applicant.

402.06    Attorney or Agent Withdraws [R-10.2019]

37 C.F.R. 1.36   Revocation of power of attorney; withdrawal of patent attorney or agent.

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· (b) A registered patent attorney or patent agent who has been given a power of attorney pursuant to § 1.32(b)  may withdraw as attorney or agent of record upon application to and approval by the Director. The applicant or patent owner will be notified of the withdrawal of the registered patent attorney or patent agent. Where power of attorney is given to the patent practitioners associated with a Customer Number, a request to delete all of the patent practitioners associated with the Customer Number may not be granted if an applicant has given power of attorney to the patent practitioners associated with the Customer Number in an application that has an Office action to which a reply is due, but insufficient time remains for the applicant to file a reply. See § 41.5  of this title for withdrawal during proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

37 C.F.R. 11.116  Declining or terminating representation.

· (a) Except as stated in paragraph (c) of this section, a practitioner shall not represent a client, or where representation has commenced, shall withdraw from the representation of a client if:

· (1) The representation will result in violation of the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct or other law;

· (2) The practitioner’s physical or mental condition materially impairs the practitioner’s ability to represent the client; or

· (3) The practitioner is discharged.

· (b) Except as stated in paragraph (c) of this section, a practitioner may withdraw from representing a client if:

· (1) Withdrawal can be accomplished without material adverse effect on the interests of the client;

· (2) The client persists in a course of action involving the practitioner’s services that the practitioner reasonably believes is criminal or fraudulent;

· (3) The client has used the practitioner’s services to perpetrate a crime or fraud;

· (4) A client insists upon taking action that the practitioner considers repugnant or with which the practitioner has a fundamental disagreement;

· (5) The client fails substantially to fulfill an obligation to the practitioner regarding the practitioner’s services and has been given reasonable warning that the practitioner will withdraw unless the obligation is fulfilled;

· (6) The representation will result in an unreasonable financial burden on the practitioner or has been rendered unreasonably difficult by the client; or

· (7) Other good cause for withdrawal exists.

· (c) A practitioner must comply with applicable law requiring notice to or permission of a tribunal when terminating a representation. When ordered to do so by a tribunal, a practitioner shall continue representation notwithstanding good cause for terminating the representation.

· (d) Upon termination of representation, a practitioner shall take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client’s interests, such as giving reasonable notice to the client, allowing time for employment of other counsel, surrendering papers and property to which the client is entitled and refunding any advance payment of fee or expense that has not been earned or incurred. The practitioner may retain papers relating to the client to the extent permitted by other law.

See MPEP § 402.05(a) for applicant revocation of power of attorney in applications filed on or after September 16, 2012. For revocation of power of attorney in applications filed before September 16, 2012, see MPEP § 402.05(b) for revocation by the applicant and MPEP § 402.07 for revocation by the assignee. See 37 CFR 11.116  for information regarding permissive and mandatory withdrawal. When filing a request to withdraw as attorney or agent of record, the patent attorney or agent should briefly state the reason(s) for which he or she is withdrawing so that the Office can determine whether to grant the request. Among several scenarios addressed in 37 CFR 11.116(b), subsections (5)  and (6)  permit withdrawal when after reasonable warning the client fails to compensate the practitioner, or when the representation "has been rendered unreasonably difficult by the client." When preparing a request for withdrawal for such reasons, the practitioner should also be mindful of 37 CFR 11.106, which requires a practitioner to maintain the confidentiality of client information (except in limited circumstances). Where withdrawal is predicated upon such reasons, the practitioner, rather than divulging confidential or secret information about the client, should identify the reason(s) for requesting to withdraw as being based on "irreconcilable differences." An explanation of and the evidence supporting "irreconcilable differences" should be submitted as proprietary material in accordance with MPEP § 724.02 to ensure that the client’s confidences are maintained.

In the event that a notice of withdrawal is filed by the attorney or agent of record, the file will be forwarded to the appropriate official for decision on the request. The withdrawal is effective when approved rather than when received.

Each attorney of record must sign the notice of withdrawal, or the notice of withdrawal must contain a clear indication of one attorney signing on behalf of himself or herself and another. A withdrawal of another attorney or agent of record, without also withdrawing the attorney or agent signing the request is a revocation, not a withdrawal.

Pursuant to 37 CFR 11.116(c), when terminating a representation a practitioner must provide notice to, or request permission from, a tribunal when required by applicable law. Pursuant to 37 CFR 11.116(d), a practitioner is required to take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client’s interests, such as giving reasonable notice to the client, allowing time for employment of other counsel, surrendering papers and property to which the client is entitled and refunding any advance payment of fee or expense that has not been earned or incurred.

The Request for Withdrawal As Attorney or Agent and Change of Correspondence Address forms (PTO/SB/83 or PTO/AIA/83, available at www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms ) provide a section wherein practitioners may certify the completion of activities necessary for the request to withdraw from representation to be granted. A Request for Withdrawal As Attorney or Agent may alternatively be filed as a Web-based e-petition (see www.uspto.gov/ patents-application-process/petitions/ 15-attorney-or-agent-withdrawals  for more information). When the correspondence address will change as a result of withdrawal, the withdrawing practitioner(s) must request that the Office direct all future correspondence to (i) the first named inventor or assignee that has properly made itself of record pursuant to 37 CFR 3.71  (for applications filed before September 16, 2012), or (ii) the applicant (for applications filed on or after September 16, 2012) or (iii) the assignee of record (for proceedings involving issued patents). Practitioners may do so by specifying either the correspondence address of, or the address associated with the Customer Number of, any appropriate party as specified above. Withdrawing practitioner(s) cannot change the correspondence address to the address associated with the Customer Number of another law firm, or any other address except as noted above.

As long as the request is filed prior to the expiration date of a time period for reply or the expiration date of a time period which can be obtained by a petition and fee for extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a), the Office will review the request and render a decision, even if the decision on the request is decided after the stated period for reply, after the application is abandoned, or after proceedings have terminated. In contrast, the Office will not decide requests to withdraw from representation as practitioner of record which are filed after the expiration date of a time period for reply or the expiration date of a time period which can be obtained by a petition and fee for extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a). These requests will be placed in the application but will not be treated on their merits. In a similar situation, a revocation of power of attorney filed after the expiration date of a time period for reply or the expiration date of a time period which can be obtained by a petition and fee for an extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136  will simply be placed in the application file. The only exception will be a revocation and power of attorney accompanied with a petition to revive.

For withdrawal during reexamination proceedings, see MPEP § 2223. Requests for withdrawal filed after a patent has issued will be placed in the file but will generally not be treated on their merits.

The Office will not approve requests from practitioners to withdraw from applications where the requesting practitioner is acting, or has acted, in a representative capacity pursuant to 37 CFR 1.34. In these situations, the practitioner is responsible for the correspondence the practitioner files in the application while acting in a representative capacity. As such, there is no need for the practitioner to obtain the Office's permission to withdraw from representation. However, practitioners acting in a representative capacity, like practitioners who have a power of attorney in the application, remain responsible for noncompliance with 37 CFR 1.56, as well as 37 CFR 11.18, with respect to documents they file.

Form PTO/AIA/83 may be used to request withdrawal of attorney or agent of record.

 

 

 

402.07    Assignee Revocation of Power of Attorney of Applicant and Appointment of New Power of Attorney [R-10.2019]

I.    APPLICATION FILED ON OR AFTER SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

In applications filed on or after September 16, 2012, any power of attorney must be signed by the applicant or patent owner (for a patent, including a patent in a supplemental examination or reexamination proceeding). See 37 CFR 1.32(b). For an assignee to revoke a previously given power of attorney and/or grant a power of attorney, the assignee must become the applicant under 37 CFR 1.46(c). See MPEP §§ 402.02(a) and 402.05(a). See MPEP § 325 for details pertaining to establishing the right of an assignee to take action in an application filed on or after September 16, 2012.

II.    APPLICATION FILED BEFORE SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

In applications filed before September 16, 2012, the assignee of record of the entire interest can revoke the power of attorney of the applicant unless an "irrevocable" right to prosecute the application had been given as in some government owned applications.

37 C.F.R. 3.71 (pre-AIA)  Prosecution by assignee.

· (a) Patents — conducting of prosecution. One or more assignees as defined in paragraph (b) of this section may, after becoming of record pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section, conduct prosecution of a national patent application or a reexamination proceeding to the exclusion of either the inventive entity, or the assignee(s) previously entitled to conduct prosecution.

· (b) Patents — assignee(s) who can prosecute. The assignee(s) who may conduct either the prosecution of a national application for patent or a reexamination proceeding are:

· (1) A single assignee. An assignee of the entire right, title and interest in the application or patent being reexamined who is of record, or

· (2) Partial assignee(s) together or with inventor(s). All partial assignees, or all partial assignees and inventors who have not assigned their right, title and interest in the application or patent being reexamined, who together own the entire right, title and interest in the application or patent being reexamined. A partial assignee is any assignee of record having less than the entire right, title and interest in the application or patent being reexamined.

· (c) Patents — Becoming of record. An assignee becomes of record either in a national patent application or a reexamination proceeding by filing a statement in compliance with § 3.73(b)  that is signed by a party who is authorized to act on behalf of the assignee.

· (d) Trademarks. The assignee of a trademark application or registration may prosecute a trademark application, submit documents to maintain a trademark registration, or file papers against a third party in reliance on the assignee’s trademark application or registration, to the exclusion of the original applicant or previous assignee. The assignee must establish ownership in compliance with § 3.73(b).

See pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.36  in MPEP § 402.05(b).

A power of attorney by the assignee of the entire interest revokes all powers given by the applicant and prior assignees if the assignee establishes their right to take action as provided in pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.73(b). See MPEP § 324. Ordinarily, the applicant will still have access to the application (MPEP § 106).

In an application that has been accorded status under pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47(a), or for which status under pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47(a)  has been requested, a power of attorney given by the inventors who have signed the declaration (available inventors) may be revoked by an assignee of the entire interest of the available inventors (i.e., the applicant). See pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.32(b)(4). Rights of the assignee to take action may be established as provided in pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.73(b)  and MPEP § 324.

Form PTO/SB/80 may be used by an assignee of the entire interest of the applicant to revoke a power of attorney and appoint a new power of attorney. The assignee would sign the power of attorney, and either the assignee or the newly appointed practitioner, having authority to take action on behalf of the assignee would sign a statement under pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.73(b)  for the application in which the general power of attorney is to be used. See MPEP § 324, subsection V. for who can sign the Statement Under pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.73(b) (Form PTO/SB/96 or equivalent).

 

 

402.08    Application in Interference or Derivation Proceeding [R-11.2013]

While an application is involved in an interference or derivation proceeding, any power of attorney of or revocation of power of attorney should be forwarded to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for consideration.

402.09    International Application [R-07.2022]

37 C.F.R. 11.9   Limited recognition in patent matters.

· (a) Any individual not registered under § 11.6  may, upon a showing of circumstances that render it necessary or justifiable and that the individual is of good moral character and reputation, be given limited recognition by the OED Director to prosecute as attorney or agent a specified patent application or specified patent applications. Limited recognition under this paragraph shall not extend further than the application or applications specified. Limited recognition shall not be granted to individuals who have passed the examination or to those for whom the examination has been waived while such individual’s application for registration to practice before the Office in patent matters is pending.

· (b) A nonimmigrant alien residing in the United States and fulfilling the provisions of paragraphs (d)  and (e)  of this section may be granted limited recognition if the nonimmigrant alien is authorized by the United States Government to be employed or trained in the United States in the capacity of representing a patent applicant by presenting or prosecuting a patent application. Limited recognition shall be granted for a period consistent with the terms of authorized employment or training. Limited recognition shall not be granted or extended to a non-United States citizen residing abroad. If granted, limited recognition shall automatically expire upon the nonimmigrant alien’s departure from the United States.

· (c) An individual not registered under § 11.6  may, if appointed by an applicant, prosecute an international patent application only before the United States International Searching Authority and the United States International Preliminary Examining Authority, provided that the individual has the right to practice before the national office with which the international application is filed as provided in PCT Art. 49Rule 90  and § 1.455  of this subchapter, or before the International Bureau when the USPTO is acting as Receiving Office pursuant to PCT Rules 83.1 bis  and 90.1.

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37 C.F.R. 1.455   Representation in international applications.

· (a) Applicants of international applications may be represented by attorneys or agents registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office or by an applicant appointed as a common representative (PCT Art. 49, Rules 4.8  and 90  and § 11.9 ). If applicants have not appointed an attorney or agent or one of the applicants to represent them, and there is more than one applicant, the applicant first named in the request and who is entitled to file in the U.S. Receiving Office shall be considered to be the common representative of all the applicants. An attorney or agent having the right to practice before a national office with which an international application is filed and for which the United States is an International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority may be appointed to represent the applicants in the international application before that authority. An attorney or agent may appoint an associate attorney or agent who shall also then be of record (PCT Rule 90.1(d) ). The appointment of an attorney or agent, or of a common representative, revokes any earlier appointment unless otherwise indicated (PCT Rule 90.6(b)  and (c) ).

· (b) Appointment of an agent, attorney or common representative (PCT Rule 4.8 ) must be effected either in the Request form, signed by applicant, in the Demand form, signed by applicant, or in a separate power of attorney submitted either to the United States Receiving Office or to the International Bureau.

· (c) Powers of attorney and revocations thereof should be submitted to the United States Receiving Office until the issuance of the international search report.

· (d) The addressee for correspondence will be as indicated in section 108 of the Administrative Instructions.

For representation in international applications, see MPEP § 1807.

402.10    Appointment/Revocation by Less Than All Applicants or Owners [R-10.2019]

Papers giving or revoking a power of attorney in an application generally require signature by all the applicants or owners of the application. Papers revoking a power of attorney in an application will not be accepted by the Office when signed by less than all of the applicants or owners of the application unless they are accompanied by a petition under 37 CFR 1.36(a)  and fee under 37 CFR 1.17(f)  with a showing of sufficient cause. Papers giving a power of attorney in an application will not be accepted by the Office when signed by less than all of the applicants or owners of the application unless they are accompanied by a petition under 37 CFR 1.183  and fee under 37 CFR 1.17(f)  demonstrating the extraordinary situation where justice requires waiver of the requirement of 37 CFR 1.32(b)(4). The petition should be directed to the Office of Petitions. The appointment and/or revocation are not accepted until the petition under 37 CFR 1.36(a)  or 1.183  is granted. Therefore, the attorney or agent newly appointed by such papers is not permitted to submit any documents (such as an information disclosure statement (IDS)) into the application file until the petition under 37 CFR 1.36(a)  or 1.183  is granted. The acceptance of such papers by petition under 37 CFR 1.36(a)  or 1.183  will result in more than one attorney, agent, applicant, or owner prosecuting the application at the same time. Therefore, each of these parties must sign all subsequent replies submitted to the Office. See In re Goldstein, 16 USPQ2d 1963 (Dep. Assist. Comm’r Pat. 1988).

In an application filed under pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47(a), an assignee of the entire interest of the available inventors (i.e., the applicant) who has signed the declaration may appoint or revoke a power of attorney without a petition under 37 CFR 1.36(a)  or 1.183. See MPEP § 402.07. However, in applications accepted under pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47, such a petition under 37 CFR 1.36(a)  or 1.183  submitted by a previously nonsigning inventor who has now joined in the application will not be granted. See MPEP § 409.03(i). Upon accepting papers appointing and/or revoking a power of attorney that are signed by less than all of the applicants or owners, the Office will indicate to applicants who must sign subsequent replies. Double correspondence will still not be permitted. Accordingly, when the acceptance of such papers results in an attorney or agent and at least one applicant or owner prosecuting the application, correspondence will be mailed to the attorney or agent. When the acceptance of such papers results in more than one attorney or agent prosecuting the application, the correspondence address will continue to be that of the attorney or agent first named in the application, unless all parties agree to a different correspondence address. Each attorney or agent signing subsequent papers must indicate whom he or she represents.

The following are examples of who must sign replies when there is more than one person responsible for prosecuting the application:

· (A) If coinventor A has given a power of attorney to a patent practitioner and coinventor B has not, replies must be signed by the patent practitioner of A and by coinventor B.

· (B) If coinventors A and B have each appointed their own patent practitioner, replies must be signed by both patent practitioners.

403    Correspondence — With Whom Held; Customer Number Practice [R-07.2022]

37 CFR 1.33  states that when an attorney or agent has been duly appointed to prosecute an application, correspondence will be held with the attorney or agent unless some other correspondence address has been given. If an attorney or agent of record assigns a correspondence address which is different than an address where the attorney or agent normally receives mail, the attorney or agent is reminded that (1) 37 CFR 11.106  requires the attorney or agent to keep information obtained by attorney/agent – client relationship in confidence; and (2) the attorney or agent is still responsible for responding to any notice or action from the Office. See 37 CFR 11.10111.103  and 11.804. Double correspondence with an applicant and their attorney, or with two representatives, will not be undertaken. See MPEP §§ 403.01(a)403.01(b)403.02, and 714.01(d).

If double correspondence is attempted, form paragraph 4.01 should be included in the next Office action.

¶ 4.01    Double Correspondence

Applicant has appointed an attorney or agent to conduct all business before the Patent and Trademark Office. Double correspondence with an applicant and applicant's attorney or agent will not be undertaken. Accordingly, applicant is required to conduct all future correspondence with this Office through the attorney or agent of record. See 37 CFR 1.33.

Examiner Note:

1. The first time a reply is received directly from applicant, include this paragraph in the Office action and send a copy of the action to the applicant. See MPEP §§ 403 and 714.01.

2. Should applicant file additional replies, do not send copies of subsequent Office actions to the applicant.

3. Status letters from the applicant may be acknowledged in isolated instances.

See MPEP § 403.01(a) for additional information pertaining to correspondence in applications filed on or after September 16, 2012. See MPEP § 403.01(b) for additional information pertaining to correspondence in applications filed before September 16, 2012.

I.    CUSTOMER NUMBER PRACTICE

A Customer Number (previously a "Payor Number") may be used to:

· (A) designate the correspondence address of a patent application or patent such that the correspondence address for the patent application or patent would be the address associated with the Customer Number (37 CFR 1.32(a)(5)(i) );

· (B) designate the fee address (37 CFR 1.363 ) of a patent such that the fee address for the patent would be the address associated with the Customer Number (37 CFR 1.32(a)(5)(ii) ); and

· (C) submit a list of practitioners such that those practitioners associated with the Customer Number would have power of attorney (37 CFR 1.32(a)(5)(iii) ).

Thus, a Customer Number may be used to designate the address associated with the Customer Number as the correspondence address of an application (or patent) or the fee address of a patent, and may also be used to submit a power of attorney in the application (or patent) to the registered practitioners associated with the Customer Number.

Applicant may use either the same or different customer number(s) for the correspondence address, the fee address and/or a list of practitioners. The customer number associated with the correspondence address is the Customer Number used to obtain access to the Private Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system at www.uspto.gov /patents /apply/checking-application-status /check-filing-status-your-patent-application  . See MPEP § 1730 for additional information regarding Private PAIR.

The Office will accept requests for changes to the Customer Number information through the USPTO patent electronic filing system. See MPEP § 502.05 for information pertaining to the USPTO patent electronic filing system.

The following forms are suggested for use with the Customer Number practice:

· (A) the "Request for Customer Number" (PTO/SB/125) to request a Customer Number;

· (B) the "Request for Customer Number Data Change" (PTO/SB/124) to request a change in the data (address or list of practitioners) associated with an existing Customer Number;

· (C) the "Change of Correspondence Address, Application" (PTO/AIA/122 for applications filed on or after September 16, 2012, or PTO/SB/122 for applications filed before September 16, 2012) to change the correspondence address of an individual application to the address associated with a Customer Number; and

· (D) the "Change of Correspondence Address, Patent" (PTO/AIA/123 for applications filed on or after September 16, 2012, or PTO//SB/123 for applications filed before September 16, 2012) to change the correspondence address of an individual patent to the address associated with a Customer Number.

The Office will also accept requests on electronic storage media submitted electronically to change the correspondence address of a list of applications or patents or the fee address for a list of patents to the address associated with a Customer Number. Instructions for submitting such requests are available on the "Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet" available at www.uspto.gov /learning-and-resources /support-centers /patent-electronic-business-center.

Such electronic requests must comply with the requirements set forth in the Notice entitled "Extension of the Payor Number Practice (through "Customer Numbers") to Matters Involving Pending Patent Applications," published in the Federal Register at 61 FR 54622, 54623-24 (October 21, 1996), and in the Official Gazette at 1191 O. G. 187, 188-89 (October 29, 1996).

With Customer Number practice, a patentee is also able to designate a "fee address" for the receipt of maintenance fee correspondence, and a different address for the receipt of all other correspondence. The designation of a "fee address" by reference to a Customer Number will not affect or be affected by the designation of a correspondence address by reference to another Customer Number, in that the Office will send maintenance fee correspondence to the address associated with the Customer Number designated as the "fee address" and will send all other correspondence to the address associated with the Customer Number designated as the correspondence address.

The association of a list of practitioners with a Customer Number will permit an applicant to appoint all of the practitioners associated with the Customer Number merely by reference to the Customer Number in the Power of Attorney (i.e., without individually listing the practitioners in the Power of Attorney). The addition and/or deletion of a practitioner from the list of practitioners associated with a Customer Number by submitting a corresponding "Request for Customer Number Data Change" (PTO/SB/124) will result in the addition or deletion of such practitioner from the list of persons authorized to represent any applicant or assignee of the entire interest of the applicant who appointed all of the practitioners associated with such Customer Number. This will avoid the necessity for the filing of additional papers in each patent application affected by a change in the practitioners of the law firm prosecuting the application. The appointment of practitioners associated with a Customer Number is optional, in that any applicant may continue to individually name those practitioners to represent the applicant in a patent application, so long as fewer than ten patent practitioners are named. See 37 CFR 1.32(c)(3).

The Customer Number practice does not affect the prohibition against, and does not amount to, an appointment of a law firm (rather than specified practitioners). The Office prohibits an appointment of a specified law firm because the Office cannot ascertain from its records whether a particular practitioner submitting a paper to the Office is associated with the law firm specified in an appointment. The Office will permit an appointment of all of the practitioners associated with a specified Customer Number because the Office can ascertain from its records for the specified Customer Number whether a particular practitioner is associated with that Customer Number.

A law firm should promptly remove any practitioner who leaves the firm from the list of practitioners associated with any Customer Number used by the law firm, so that the practitioner will not have access to the applications associated with the Customer Number. A practitioner leaving a law firm can also remove themselves from any Customer Number used by the law firm. In order to continue representing an applicant who had appointed the practitioners associated with the Customer Number of a law firm, a practitioner leaving the law firm must obtain a new power of attorney.

Similarly, a practitioner who has a USPTO patent electronic filing system account should remove sponsorship of any support staff individual when that individual leaves the firm so that the support staff individual will not have access to any applications associated with any Customer Number linked to the practitioner.

As the Office will not recognize more than one correspondence address (37 CFR 1.33(a) ), any inconsistencies between the correspondence address resulting from a Customer Number being provided in an application for the correspondence address and any other correspondence address provided in that application will generally be resolved in favor of the address of the Customer Number or the application data sheet (37 CFR 1.76(d) ). Due to the prohibition against double correspondence in an application (37 CFR 1.33(a) ), an applicant will be permitted to provide only a single number at a time as the Customer Number for the correspondence address. Applicants are strongly cautioned not to attempt to appoint more than one Customer Number for a particular purpose (e.g., correspondence address) in a single communication, as such action will not have a cumulative effect.

Where an applicant appoints all of the practitioners associated with a Customer Number as well as a list of individually named practitioners, such action would be treated as only an appointment of all of the practitioners associated with a Customer Number due to the potential for confusion and data entry errors in entering registration numbers from plural sources. Furthermore, Office computer systems do not allow for entry of both a power of attorney to a list of practitioners associated with a Customer Number and a list of practitioners.

Although Customer Numbers are designed to designate both a correspondence address and to associate one or more patent practitioners with an application, one Customer Number may be used for the correspondence address, and another Customer Number may be used for the power of attorney. As stated previously, the customer number associated with the correspondence address is the Customer Number used to obtain access to the Private PAIR system. For example, where one customer number is associated with the correspondence address (e.g., a customer number that lists all of the practitioners at a particular firm) and a different customer number is used to appoint practitioners as having power of attorney (e.g., a customer number that lists a small number of practitioners from the particular firm as well as a few practitioners who are employees of the applicant), only the practitioners associated with the customer number being used for the correspondence address will be able to access the application in Private PAIR.

The Office has created a Mail Stop designation for correspondence related to a Customer Number ("Mail Stop EBC"), and all correspondence related to a Customer Number (e.g., requests for a Customer Number) should be addressed to this mail stop designation.

The following persons are authorized to change the information associated with an established Customer Number: (1) a registered practitioner associated with the Customer Number; and (2) the person who requested the Customer Number (signed the Request for Customer Number, Form PTO/SB/125).