The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register earlier today (80 Fed. Reg. 78155) to comply with Public Law 113-227, which was enacted by Congress on December 16, 2014, and which establishes the USPTO's Law School Clinic Certification Program.  The legislation, which requires the USPTO Director to establish regulations and procedures for application to and participation in the USPTO Law School Clinic Certification Program, removes the "pilot" status from the Office's existing law school clinic certification program.

According to the Office's Federal Register notice, the Law School Clinic Certification Program allows students enrolled in a participating law school's clinic to practice patent and trademark law before the USPTO under the direct supervision of a faculty clinic supervisor by drafting, filing, and prosecuting patent or trademark applications, or both, on a pro bono basis for clients who qualify for assistance from the law school's clinic.  On pages 78157-59 of the notice, the Office sets forth changes to part 11 of the regulations (concerning representation of others before the USPTO) to amend the definition of "practitioner" and add § 11.16, which species the requirements for admission to the Program, and § 11.17, which specifies the requirements for participation in the Program.

Additional information regarding the Law School Clinic Certification Program can be found on the Office's Program webpage.  The webpage also includes a list of the 44 currently participating law schools, of which eighteen schools have both patent and trademark programs, six have only patent programs, and twenty have only trademark programs.

The Office also seeks comments in response to the proposed rules changes, which must be submitted by February 16, 2016 either by e-mail to LSCCPComments@uspto.gov; by regular mail addressed to:  Mail Stop OED—Law School Rules, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313–1450, marked to the attention of William R. Covey, Deputy General Counsel for Enrollment and Discipline and Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline; or via the Federal eRulemaking Portal.