Patent and Trademark Office September 22, 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) previously published a notice requesting comments on the implementation of certain 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). The USPTO has considered the comments and, based on the support for the proposals, is implementing the updates to the GRB. There are three categories of technical and scientific qualifications that may typically make applicants eligible to sit for the registration examination: 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. Based on the USPTO's evaluation and comments received, the USPTO is changing the criteria to: Add common Category B degrees to Category A, accept advanced degrees (i.e., master's and doctor of philosophy 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.