Inventors and their attorneys must beware of their actions before the US Patent and Trademark Office

Abstract

Inventors and their legal representative have a duty to disclose all material information of which they are aware to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Breach of this duty, combined with an intent to deceive the USPTO, can result in a court finding of inequitable conduct. Consequently, a patent will be rendered unenforceable upon a court's determination of inequitable conduct. To help understand the requirements of the duty of disclosure, a discussion highlighting recent court decisions pertaining to the issue of inequitable conduct is presented.

• candor
• disclosure
• enablement
• inequitable
• intent
• material