{"id":28,"date":"2012-12-28T15:17:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-28T15:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/professional-liability\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/"},"modified":"2023-11-08T18:49:41","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T18:49:41","slug":"the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/","title":{"rendered":"The PTO Takes Steps to Conform with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct"},"content":{"rendered":"

After more than twenty-five years, the United States Patent and Trademark Office<\/a> (the \u201cPTO\u201d) plans to replace its Code of Professional Responsibility with, in large part\"public, the ABA\u2019s 2011 Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The PTO announced its intent to amend its Code on October 13, 2012, and invited public comment for sixty days, until December 17, 2012. The PTO\u2019s current Code, in place since 1985, was originally based on the ABA\u2019s Model Rules. The PTO has not, however, kept pace with the ABA\u2019s frequent and prolific amendments that have occurred over the years.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Many of the PTO\u2019s proposed changes simply adopt identical language from the ABA Model Rules. Others are adapted to reflect the nature of the practice before the PTO. For example, the Model Rule defines \u201ccompetent representation\u201d as requiring \u201cthe legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation,\u201d whereas the PTO\u2019s proposed rule defines it as requiring \u201cthe legal, scientific, and technical knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the ABA approved additional changes to the Model Rules in August of this year, the PTO is not adopting those at this time. The PTO has asked for public comment, however, on whether any of the ABA\u2019s most recent suggested amendments should be incorporated into its soon-to-be revamped Code. A comparison chart of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the proposed USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct, along with information regarding the proposed change is located on the USPTO\u2019s website. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After more than twenty-five years, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the \u201cPTO\u201d) plans to replace its Code of Professional Responsibility with, in large part, the ABA\u2019s 2011 Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The PTO announced its intent to amend its Code on October 13, 2012, and invited public comment for sixty days, until […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe PTO Takes Steps to Conform with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct - Law Firm Defense<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The PTO Takes Steps to Conform with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct - Law Firm Defense\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After more than twenty-five years, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the \u201cPTO\u201d) plans to replace its Code of Professional Responsibility with, in large part, the ABA\u2019s 2011 Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The PTO announced its intent to amend its Code on October 13, 2012, and invited public comment for sixty days, until […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Law Firm Defense\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-12-28T15:17:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-08T18:49:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/mh910220867.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"325\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"325\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sherin and Lodgen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sherin and Lodgen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/28\\\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/28\\\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sherin and Lodgen\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d3993443b0c28a6cbc428e4c8cf2503b\"},\"headline\":\"The PTO Takes Steps to Conform with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-28T15:17:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-08T18:49:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/28\\\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":266,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/28\\\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/mh910220867.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/28\\\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/28\\\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\\\/\",\"name\":\"The PTO Takes Steps to Conform with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct - Law Firm Defense\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/28\\\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/28\\\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/mh910220867.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-28T15:17:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-08T18:49:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d3993443b0c28a6cbc428e4c8cf2503b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/28\\\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/28\\\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/28\\\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/mh910220867.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/mh910220867.jpg\",\"width\":325,\"height\":325},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/28\\\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The PTO Takes Steps to Conform with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/\",\"name\":\"Law Firm Defense\",\"description\":\"Law Firm Defense News from Sherin and Lodgen\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d3993443b0c28a6cbc428e4c8cf2503b\",\"name\":\"Sherin and Lodgen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/230b9af128b3a110ff9a383734048c6f5bdf9555cc6f02edf9c46eeabc40ef35?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/230b9af128b3a110ff9a383734048c6f5bdf9555cc6f02edf9c46eeabc40ef35?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/230b9af128b3a110ff9a383734048c6f5bdf9555cc6f02edf9c46eeabc40ef35?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sherin and Lodgen\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sherin.com\\\/law-firm-defense\\\/author\\\/wp\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The PTO Takes Steps to Conform with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct - Law Firm Defense","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The PTO Takes Steps to Conform with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct - Law Firm Defense","og_description":"After more than twenty-five years, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the \u201cPTO\u201d) plans to replace its Code of Professional Responsibility with, in large part, the ABA\u2019s 2011 Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The PTO announced its intent to amend its Code on October 13, 2012, and invited public comment for sixty days, until […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/","og_site_name":"Law Firm Defense","article_published_time":"2012-12-28T15:17:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-11-08T18:49:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":325,"height":325,"url":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/mh910220867.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sherin and Lodgen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sherin and Lodgen","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/"},"author":{"name":"Sherin and Lodgen","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/#\/schema\/person\/d3993443b0c28a6cbc428e4c8cf2503b"},"headline":"The PTO Takes Steps to Conform with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct","datePublished":"2012-12-28T15:17:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-08T18:49:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/"},"wordCount":266,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/mh910220867.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/","name":"The PTO Takes Steps to Conform with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct - Law Firm Defense","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/mh910220867.jpg","datePublished":"2012-12-28T15:17:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-08T18:49:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/#\/schema\/person\/d3993443b0c28a6cbc428e4c8cf2503b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/mh910220867.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/mh910220867.jpg","width":325,"height":325},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/2012\/12\/28\/the-pto-takes-steps-to-conform-with-the-aba-model-rules-of-professional-conduct\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The PTO Takes Steps to Conform with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/","name":"Law Firm Defense","description":"Law Firm Defense News from Sherin and Lodgen","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/#\/schema\/person\/d3993443b0c28a6cbc428e4c8cf2503b","name":"Sherin and Lodgen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/230b9af128b3a110ff9a383734048c6f5bdf9555cc6f02edf9c46eeabc40ef35?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/230b9af128b3a110ff9a383734048c6f5bdf9555cc6f02edf9c46eeabc40ef35?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/230b9af128b3a110ff9a383734048c6f5bdf9555cc6f02edf9c46eeabc40ef35?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sherin and Lodgen"},"url":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/author\/wp\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/law-firm-defense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}