The USPTO Does Not Need The Onerous Proposed Attributable Owner Rules

The Federal Register Notice promulgating the proposed Attributable Owner rules offers some lofty justifications for the rules. Because the rules have been promulgated pursuant to a White House initiative, they are likely to take effect in some form, but applicants and stakeholders should not miss the opportunity to submit comments and suggestions to the USPTO in an effort to make the final rules less onerous.

The Proposed Onerous Definition of Attributable Owner

The USPTO has proposed to impose an ongoing requirement to disclose all "attributable owners" of a pending application or granted patent, defining "attributable owner" as follows:

§ 1.271 Attributable owner (Real-parties-in-interest for reporting purposes).