By Ben Snitkoff
The new Inter Partes Review (“IPR”) and Post-Grant Review (“PGR”) procedures are similar to district court litigation in many respects: there are opportunities for discovery, depositions, adverse motion practice, and a trial. As such, many participants in these proceedings may wish to retain experienced litigation counsel, who may not be registered to practice before the USPTO.
The regulation authorizing counsel to appear pro hac vice is 37 C.F.R. 42.10(c) and provides:
The Board may recognize counsel pro hac vice during a proceeding upon a showing of good cause, subject to the condition that lead counsel be a registered practitioner and to any other conditions as the Board may impose. For example, where the lead counsel is a registered practitioner, a motion to appear pro hac vice by counsel who is not a registered practitioner may be granted upon showing that counsel is an experienced litigating attorney and has an established familiarity with the subject matter at issue in the proceeding.
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) recently clarified the procedures for filing a motion for admission pro hac vice, in IPR2013-00639. First, the motion shall be filed no sooner than 21 days after service of the petition, when the patent owner must file their mandatory notices. Any opposition must be filed within seven days after the motion, and no reply is allowed unless authorized by the PTAB. Continue reading “Stranger in a Strange Land – USPTO Clarifies Rules for Pro Hac Vice Admission”