What happens to the power of attorney when inventorship is corrected in a patent application?
When inventorship is corrected in a patent application, it can affect the power of attorney. For applications filed on or after September 16, 2012, 37 CFR 1.32(e) provides:
If the power of attorney was granted by the originally named inventive entity, and an added inventor pursuant to § 1.48 does not provide a power of attorney consistent with the power of attorney granted by the originally named inventive entity, the addition of the inventor results in the loss of that power of attorney upon grant of the § 1.48 request.
This means that if a new inventor is added and does not provide a power of attorney consistent with the original one, the original power of attorney is lost when the request to correct inventorship is granted. However, this provision does not prevent a practitioner from acting in a representative capacity under 37 CFR 1.34, if applicable.
It’s important for applicants and their representatives to be aware of this potential consequence when correcting inventorship and to take appropriate action to maintain or update the power of attorney as needed.
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