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Patent Alert

Mitigating fraud and misrepresentations in patent proceedings

Bad actors can jeopardize the protection that applicants hope to secure with their patent application and can weaken the public’s trust in United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) proceedings. Every fraudulent submission and misrepresentation delays consideration by the Office of legitimate applications and increases the cost for other innovators that use the patent system.

Consistent with our ongoing efforts to fight fraud and protect the integrity of the intellectual property system, the Patent Fraud Mitigation Unit actively identifies instances of unauthorized representatives acting in patent applications on an ongoing basis. As a result of these efforts, we have terminated over 3,800 applications for rule violations since the beginning of fiscal year 2025. More recently, in April 2026, the Office issued a final order terminating patent proceedings in more than 400 applications for rule violations related to the use of unauthorized representation.

Applicants should be vigilant and verify that their chosen representative is registered to practice before the USPTO and should be aware that the actions taken by a representative are binding. When a representative submits papers to America's Invention Agency, their actions are in effect treated as the applicant’s actions. This means that an applicant will be bound by the submissions of a chosen representative in their patent applications. Information regarding representation before the Office is available in the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP), Chapter 400.

Be in the know

For information on our fraud mitigation efforts, please visit the Mitigating threats to the patent system page. For information on selecting a registered patent practitioner, please visit the Patent Practitioner Home Page (where one can search for practitioners who are currently authorized to represent others before the USPTO in patent matters) and the Finding a patent practitioner page. America's Invention Agency cannot aid in the selection or recommendation of an attorney or agent.

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