Data / Federal rules / 2026-05564
Required Use by Foreign Applicants and Patent Owners of a Patent Practitioner
The Patent and Trademark Office published this final rule in the Federal Register on March 20, 2026. It took effect on July 20, 2026.
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What the agency says
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is amending the Rules of Practice in Patent Cases to require patent applicants and patent owners whose domicile is not located within the United States (U.S.) or its territories (hereinafter foreign applicants/inventors and patent owners) to be represented by a registered patent practitioner. A requirement that foreign applicants/ inventors and patent owners be represented by a registered patent practitioner will bring the U.S. in line with most other countries that require that such parties be represented by a licensed or registered person of that country. Additionally, this requirement will increase efficiency and enable the USPTO to more effectively use available mechanisms to enforce compliance by all foreign applicants/inventors and patent owners with U.S. statutory and regulatory requirements in patent matters, and enhance the USPTO's ability to respond to false certifications, misrepresentations, and fraud.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-05564
- Type
- Final rule
- Action
- Final rule
- Agency
- Commerce Department; Patent and Trademark Office
- Published
- March 20, 2026
- Takes effect
- July 20, 2026
- Dates
- This rule is effective on July 20, 2026.
- Docket
- Docket No. PTO-P-2025-0008
- Regulation ID (RIN)
- 0651-AD85
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 37 CFR 1
- Topics
- Administrative practice and procedure; Biologics; Courts; Freedom of information; Inventions and patents; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements; Small businesses
- Pages
- 10
Other documents from the Patent and Trademark Office
Everything from the Patent and Trademark Office · Rules on administrative practice and procedure · Rules on biologics · Rules on courts · Published in March 2026
Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.