Overview
Section 32 of the America Invents Act requires that “The Director shall work with and support intellectual property law associations across the country in the establishment of pro bono programs designed to assist financially under-resourced independent inventors and small businesses.” The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is working to make pro bono assistance a reality by working with and supporting many different IP law associations in their efforts to make sure that no good invention is left undiscovered due to the financial inability to secure the services of a registered patent attorney.
The Patent Pro Bono Programs will be individually run as regional programs available to assist inventors and small businesses in their state or region. The Federal Circuit Bar Association (FCBA) has agreed to help. The FCBA will operate as a regional Patent Pro Bono Program for the states of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia. The USPTO’s pro bono website provides more information about which regional programs cover each state. See here.
On August 4, 2015, the White House published a press release announcing that the USPTO Patent Pro Bono Program now covers all 50 states. To view the press release, visit the White House’s website here.
For More Information
If you have more questions on the PTO or our other Pro Bono programs, please email probono@fedcirbar.org or visit the pages linked below.
If you are a registered patent attorney in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, or DC and would like to volunteer for the regional, please email probono@fedcirbar.org.
Disclaimer
PLEASE NOTE: The FCBA pro bono outreach undertakes to provide information to attorneys for consideration, by those attorneys, with respect to possible representation. As noted above, the consideration of representation is a matter for the attorney. The attorneys are not agents of the FCBA. The FCBA is pleased to offer this informational service. The outreach is not a guarantee of pro bono representation. The FCBA always reserves the right to cease, immediately, any efforts to forward information or proceed with respect to any individual who has engaged or is engaging in abusive conduct, as determined by the FCBA, in the context of this service. The Federal Circuit Bar Association is not an instrument or agency of the United States Government. Those interested in pro bono relationships are always encouraged to pursue with others, including local law schools and state bar associations, all options available to them at all times.