不請律師-自己申請專利(19): 泄密問題

 

有朋友問：“美國的專利申請原則是‘發明優先’，即使A先於B提出申請，但是雖B後於A的申請卻先A拿出/造出來實物，則該專利將被授予B。一般情況下是事實，那麽A的專利申請機密是否在B申請之前就存在律師泄密的可能性？特別是當A僅僅是個人或小公司並且A的發明是極其重要的(A此時沒有實力去生產出實物)的情況下？”

愛恨專利的答複:

我認為你所指的律師泄密的可能性微乎其微，如果存在的話。

美國專利與商標局對專利代理人和律師有個德才兼備的要求，會在上崗執業前(before being recognized as representatives of applicants or other persons) to show that they are of good moral character and reputation (德) and are possessed of the necessary qualifications (才) to render to applicants or other persons valuable service, advice, and assistance in the presentation or prosecution of their applications or other business before the Office.

泄密這種事關係到專利律師或代理人的飯碗，量他不敢造次，除非利令智昏。

The Director may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, suspend or exclude(丟飯碗), either generally or in any particular case, from further practice before the Patent and Trademark Office, any person, agent, or attorney shown to be incompetent or disreputable, or guilty of gross misconduct, or who does not comply with the regulations established under section 2(b)(2)(D) of this title, or who shall, by word, circular, letter, or advertising, with intent to defraud in any manner, deceive, mislead, or threaten any applicant or prospective applicant, or other person having immediate or prospective business before the Office. The reasons for any such suspension or exclusion shall be duly recorded. The Director shall have the discretion to designate any attorney who is an officer or employee of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to conduct the hearing required by this section. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia, under such conditions and upon such proceedings as it by its rules determines, may review the action of the Director upon the petition of the person so refused recognition or so suspended or excluded.

與你的問題相關的另外一點是，即使美國專利局的工作人員合法地獲悉你的秘密，在18月公開或專利授權之前，他們也有嚴格的保密義務。更甚者，美國法律對專利局的工作人員利用工作之便以隱蔽方式染指專利利益也有所防範，叫作restrictions on officers and employees as to interest in patents. 美國專利局的工作人員 shall be incapable, during the period of their appointments and for one year thereafter(在職期間或離職一年內), of applying for a patent and of acquiring, directly or indirectly, except by inheritance or bequest, any patent or any right or interest in any patent(染指專利利益的一種方式), issued or to be issued by the Office. In patents applied for thereafter they shall not be entitled to any priority date earlier than one year after the termination of their appointment (離職一年後染指專利利益). 有問題但不想公開交流，請使用[e-mail]