What restrictions apply to USPTO employees regarding patents?

USPTO employees are subject to several restrictions regarding patents:

• They cannot apply for a patent during their employment and for one year after.
• They cannot acquire any patent or interest in a patent, directly or indirectly, except through inheritance or bequest, during employment and for one year after.
• For patents applied for after the one-year period, they cannot claim a priority date earlier than one year after their employment ends.

These restrictions are outlined in 35 U.S.C. 4, which states:

‘Officers and employees of the Patent and Trademark Office shall be incapable, during the period of their appointments and for one year thereafter, 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, 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.’