§11.110. Imputation of conflicts of interest; General rule.
37 C.F.R. § 11.110
While practitioners are associated in a firm, none of them shall knowingly represent a client when any one of them practicing alone would be prohibited from doing so by §§ 11.107 or 11.109, unless:
The prohibition is based on a personal interest of the disqualified practitioner and does not present a significant risk of materially limiting the representation of the client by the remaining practitioners in the firm; or
The prohibition is based upon § 11.109(a) or (b), and arises out of the disqualified practitioner's association with a prior firm, and
The disqualified practitioner is timely screened from any participation in the matter and is apportioned no part of the fee therefrom; and
Written notice is promptly given to any affected former client to enable the former client to ascertain compliance with the provisions of this section, which shall include a description of the screening procedures employed; a statement of the firm's and of the screened practitioner's compliance with the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct; a statement that review may be available before a tribunal; and an agreement by the firm to respond promptly to any written inquiries or objections by the former client about the screening procedures.
When a practitioner has terminated an association with a firm, the firm is not prohibited from thereafter representing a person with interests materially adverse to those of a client represented by the formerly associated practitioner and not currently represented by the firm, unless:
The matter is the same or substantially related to that in which the formerly associated practitioner represented the client; and
Any practitioner remaining in the firm has information protected by §§ 11.106 and 11.109(c) that is material to the matter.
A disqualification prescribed by this section may be waived by the affected client under the conditions stated in § 11.107.
The disqualification of practitioners associated in a firm with former or current Federal Government lawyers is governed by § 11.111.
Notes, amendments, and revision history
Source
Source: 78 FR 20201, Apr. 3, 2013, unless otherwise noted.
Authority
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 500; 15 U.S.C. 1123; 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(2), 32, 41; Sec. 1, Pub. L. 113-227, 128 Stat. 2114.
Source
Source: 69 FR 35452, June 24, 2004, unless otherwise noted.