35 U.S.C. § 33
Section 33 · Unauthorized representation as practitioner
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 339 court decisions — leading case Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. v. Linde Air Products Co. (1950)
Most recently applied in In re Packard (May 2014)
Applied most in the Third Circuit Circuit (38 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 35 U.S.C. § 31 · 35 U.S.C. § 112 · 28 U.S.C. § 1295
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Whoever, not being recognized to practice before the Patent and Trademark Office, holds himself out or permits himself to be held out as so recognized, or as being qualified to prepare or prosecute applications for patent, shall be fined not more than $1,000 for each offense.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., §11a (May 9, 1938, ch. 188, 52 Stat. 342).
This is a criminal statute. The language has been considerably simplified and the upper limit of the penalty is increased.
Amendments
1975—Pub. L. 93–596 substituted “Patent and Trademark Office” for “Patent Office”.
Effective Date of 1975 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 93–596 effective Jan. 2, 1975, see section 4 of Pub. L. 93–596, set out as a under section 1111 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade.
Cross References
Advertising practice before departments or offices of Government, see section 501 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.