I. INTRODUCTION
On May 26, 2021, the United States Patent and Trademark Office
("USPTO") finalized the amendments to the Rules of
Practice in Patent Cases as well as the rules regarding
Representation of Others before the United States Patent and
Trademark Office, found in the Code of Federal Regulations, 37
C.F.R. 11.1 – 11.901. The USPTO proposed the rule changes in
2020, and once finalized, the rules became effective on June 25,
2021.1 The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct have
not been substantially updated since April 3, 2013, when the Office
published a final rule establishing the USPTO Rules of Professional
Conduct, 37 C.F.R. 11.101 et
seq.2 The new and amended Rules of
Professional Conduct were modeled after the American Bar
Association ("ABA") Model Rules of Professional
Conduct.3 By adding new provisions and changing the
language of other provisions, the USPTO aimed to accomplish the
following:
