[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 19 (Thursday, January 29, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4269-4270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1888]


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PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

37 CFR Part 11

[Docket No.: 2002-C-005]
RIN 0651-AB55


Changes to Representation of Others Before the United States 
Patent and Trademark Office

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or 
USPTO) is extending the public comment period on proposed rules, USPTO 
Rules of Professional Conduct, published in the Federal Register on 
December 12, 2003 (68 FR 69442). This will allow additional time 
following publication on December 12, 2003, for public comments, 
including whether the Rules of Professional Conduct should include the 
revisions to the Model Rules as

[[Page 4270]]

amended by the American Bar Association at the end of its February 2002 
Midyear Meeting, also known as the Ethics 2000 revisions.

DATES: You must submit your comments by Monday, April 12, 2004. The 
Office may not necessarily consider or include in the Administrative 
Record for the proposed rule comments that the Office receives after 
the close of this extended comment period or comments delivered to an 
address other than those listed below.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent by electronic mail over the Internet 
addressed to: [email protected]. Comments may also be 
submitted by mail addressed to: Mail Stop OED--Ethics Rules, United 
States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 
22313-1450 or by facsimile to (703) 306-4134, marked to the attention 
of Harry I. Moatz. Although comments may be submitted by mail or 
facsimile, the Office prefers to receive comments via the Internet. If 
comments are submitted by mail, the Office would prefer that the 
comments be submitted on a DOS formatted 3\1/2\-inch disk accompanied 
by a paper copy. The comments will be available for public inspection 
at the Office of Enrollment and Discipline, located in Room 1103, 
Crystal Plaza 6, 2221 South Clark Street, Arlington, Virginia, and will 
be available through anonymous file transfer protocol (ftp) via the 
Internet (address: http://www.uspto.gov). Since comments will be made 
available for public inspection, information that is not desired to be 
made public should not be included in the comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harry I. Moatz ((703) 305-9145), 
Director of Enrollment and Discipline (OED Director), directly by 
phone, or by facsimile to (703) 305-4136, marked to the attention of 
Mr. Moatz, or by mail addressed to: Mail Stop OED--Ethics Rules, U.S. 
Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-
1450.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USPTO published the proposed rules on 
December 12, 2003 (68 FR 69442) and provided a 60-day comment period 
that will end on February 10, 2004. We are extending the comment period 
on proposed rules 11.100 through 11.900 in subpart D until April 12, 
2004, to allow the public additional time to provide us with their 
comments.
    The Office seeks comments regarding proposed rules 11.100 through 
11.900 in subpart D, in part, because the proposed rules do not 
contemplate inclusion of the Ethics 2000 revisions to the Model Rules 
of Professional Conduct. The Ethics 2000 revisions have not been widely 
adopted by state bars. Proposed rules 11.100 through 11.900, in large 
part, are based on the widely adopted Model Rules of Professional 
Conduct. The extended comment period provides the public an opportunity 
to address proposed rules 11.100 through 11.900, and whether the Ethics 
2000 revisions should be included in the rules adopted by the Office.

    Dated: January 22, 2004.
Jon W. Dudas,
Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting 
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 04-1888 Filed 1-28-04; 8:45 am]
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