Patent and Trademark Office March 23, 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This request for comments seeks public input on proposed administrative updates to the General Requirements Bulletin for Admission to the Examination for Registration to Practice in Patent Cases Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (GRB). There are three categories of technical and scientific qualifications that may typically make applicants eligible: Category A for specified bachelor's degrees, Category B for other bachelor's degrees with technical and scientific training, and Category C for practical engineering or scientific experience, which may be demonstrated by passing the Fundamentals of Engineering test. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) evaluates the criteria for applicants to sit for the registration examination on an ongoing basis. Based on this ongoing evaluation, the USPTO is looking into changing the criteria to: Add common Category B degrees to Category A, accept advanced degrees (i.e., master's and doctoral degrees) under Category A, and accept a combination of core sciences under Category B, Options 2 and 4, so long as one of the core science courses has a lab component.