[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 37, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 37CFR1.32]

[Page 40]
 
              TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
 
  CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                                COMMERCE
 
PART 1_RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES--Table of Contents
 
                Subpart B_National Processing Provisions
 
Sec. 1.32  Power of attorney.

    (a) Definitions. (1) Patent practitioner means a registered patent 
attorney or registered patent agent under Sec. 11.6.
    (2) Power of attorney means a written document by which a principal 
authorizes one or more patent practitioners or joint inventors to act on 
his or her behalf.
    (3) Principal means either an applicant for patent (Sec. 1.41(b)) 
or an assignee of entire interest of the applicant for patent or in a 
reexamination proceeding, the assignee of the entirety of ownership of a 
patent. The principal executes a power of attorney designating one or 
more patent practitioners or joint inventors to act on his or her 
behalf.
    (4) Revocation means the cancellation by the principal of the 
authority previously given to a patent practitioner or joint inventor to 
act on his or her behalf.
    (5) Customer Number means a number that may be used to:
    (i) Designate the correspondence address of a patent application or 
patent such that the correspondence address for the patent application, 
patent or other patent proceeding would be the address associated with 
the Customer Number;
    (ii) Designate the fee address (Sec. 1.363) of a patent such that 
the fee address for the patent would be the address associated with the 
Customer Number; and
    (iii) Submit a list of patent practitioners such that those patent 
practitioners associated with the Customer Number would have power of 
attorney.
    (b) A power of attorney must:
    (1) Be in writing;
    (2) Name one or more representatives in compliance with (c) of this 
section;
    (3) Give the representative power to act on behalf of the principal; 
and
    (4) Be signed by the applicant for patent (Sec. 1.41(b)) or the 
assignee of the entire interest of the applicant.
    (c) A power of attorney may only name as representative:
    (1) One or more joint inventors (Sec. 1.45);
    (2) Those registered patent practitioners associated with a Customer 
Number;
    (3) Ten or fewer patent practitioners, stating the name and 
registration number of each patent practitioner. Except as provided in 
paragraph (c)(1) or (c)(2) of this section, the Office will not 
recognize more than ten patent practitioners as being of record in an 
application or patent. If a power of attorney names more than ten patent 
practitioners, such power of attorney must be accompanied by a separate 
paper indicating which ten patent practitioners named in the power of 
attorney are to be recognized by the Office as being of record in the 
application or patent to which the power of attorney is directed.

[69 FR 29877, May 26, 2004, as amended at 70 FR 56127, Sept. 26, 2005]