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DOC/PTO RIN: 0651-AC99 Publication ID: Spring 2016 
Title: USPTO Law School Clinic Certification Program 
Abstract:

This rulemaking is required by Public Law 113-227 (December 16, 2014). This law requires the USPTO Director to establish regulations and procedures for application to and participation in the USPTO Law School Clinic Certification Program. This law removed the "pilot" status of the USPTO's existing law school clinic certification program. The program allows students enrolled in a participating law school's clinic to practice patent and trademark law before the USPTO by drafting, filing, and prosecuting patent or trademark applications, or both, on a pro-bono basis for clients that qualify for assistance from the law school's clinic. The program provides law students enrolled in a participating clinic the opportunity to practice patent and trademark law before the USPTO under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. In this way, these student practitioners gain valuable experience drafting and filing patent and trademark applications that would otherwise be unavailable. Patents and trademarks are highly specialized areas of law. The program provides services to small and independent trademark and patent fliers that lack the financial resources necessary for traditional legal representation.

 
Agency: Department of Commerce(DOC)  Priority: Info./Admin./Other 
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Final Rule Stage 
Major: No  Unfunded Mandates: No 
CFR Citation: None     (To search for a specific CFR, visit the Code of Federal Regulations.)
Legal Authority: Pub. L. 113-227   
Legal Deadline:  None
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
NPRM  12/16/2015  80 FR 78155   
NPRM Comment Period End  02/16/2016 
Final Rule  05/00/2016 
Final Rule Effective  06/00/2016 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No  Government Levels Affected: None 
Small Entities Affected: No  Federalism: No 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No 
Agency Contact:
William Covey
Deputy General Counsel and Director for Enrollment and Discipline
Department of Commerce
Patent and Trademark Office
P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
Phone:571 272-4097
Fax:571 273-0074
Email: will.covey@uspto.gov