On October 10, 2024, the USPTO issued a final rule allowing parties to proceed without backup counsel in AIA proceedings and implementing an automatic admission process for pro hac vice attorneys. Full text of the final rule can be found here. The new regulations are intended to improve access to the PTAB and streamline existing processes. Expanding Opportunities to Appear Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, 89 Fed. Reg. 82172 (Oct. 10, 2024) (to be codified at 37 C.F.R. pt. 42).Current regulations require parties to designate both lead counsel and at least one backup counsel for AIA proceedings. Id. at 82173. If backup counsel is not admitted to practice in front of the PTAB, the PTAB must grant a motion to appear pro hac vice. The motion must explain the attorney’s compliance with several qualifications and requires an accompanying fee. Id.; see alsoUnified Patents, Inc. v. Parallel Iron, LLC, IPR2013-00639, Paper 7 (PTAB Oct. 15, 2013). The USPTO issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on February 21, 2024, proposing various changes to PTAB procedures.The NPRM initially proposed several changes, notably including: (1) permitting a party to proceed without backup counsel upon showing good cause; (2) permitting automatic admission—without a fee—of a nonregistered practitioner previously admitted pro hac vice; and (3) permitting a nonregistered attorney to serve as lead counsel alongside registered backup counsel. Ex

USPTO LeadershipOn October 21, the USPTO announced the appointment of Nancy U. Kamei as Chief Public Engagement Officer and Director of the Office of Public Engagement (OPE).USPTO NewsOn October 23, the USPTO and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Chapter 245 announced the signing of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The CBA, which was last updated in 2001, carries a five-year term with rollover provisions.To mark the Intellectual Property (IP) Month in October, the USPTO rolled out expanded inventor and entrepreneur resources, including an expansion to the IP identifier tool and a new Startup Certification Training Course.Final RulesExpanding Opportunities to Appear Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, 89 Fed. Reg. 82172 (Oct. 10, 2024) [modifying the rules regarding representation by counsel at the PTAB in AIA proceedings to: permit parties to proceed without back-up counsel upon showing of good cause; establish a streamlined alternative procedure for recognizing counsel pro hac vice; and clarify that those recognizedpro hac vicehave a duty to inform the Board of subsequent events that render inaccurate or incomplete representations they made to obtainpro hac vicerecognition]In a press release, the USPTO noted that it is not proceeding at this time with a final rule that would permit non-registered attorneys to appear as lead counsel. It instead intends to pursue a pilot project under which non-registered attorneys who are recognizedpro hac vicewould be permitted, in certain circumstances, to appear as lead counsel.Interim RulesThere are no new interim rules.Proposed RulesThere are no new proposed rules.PTAB DecisionsNew Precedential PTAB DecisionsThere are no new precedential PTAB decisions.New Informative PTAB Dec

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) published a final rule entitled, Expanding Opportunities to Appear Before the Patent Trial & Appeal Board; 89 Fed. Reg. 82172 (Oct. 10, 2024).The new rule, set to take effect on November 12, 2024, will apply to America Invents Act (AIA) proceedings, which, until now, have required that a party designate lead counsel and backup counsel. Lead counsel was required to be a registered practitioner, and non-registered practitioners could be backup counsel upon a showing of good cause.The PTO filed a notice of proposed rulemaking on February 21, 2024, in which it proposed amending the regulations to allow the Board to permit a party to proceed without separate backup counsel as long as lead counsel is a registered practitioner. The PTO also proposed to allow a non-registered practitioner admitted pro hac vice to serve as either lead or backup counsel for a party as long as a registered practitioner was also counsel of record for that party, and to allow a non-registered practitioner who was previously recognized pro hac vice in an AIA proceeding to be considered a Board-recognized practitioner and eligible for automatic pro hac vi