Are PAC members barred from applying for, or acquiring an interest in, patents?
USPTO employees are barred under 35 U.S.C. 4 from applying for or acquiring an interest in a patent. Section 5, however, requires that at least one PAC member be an inventor and prohibits voting PAC members from having access to confidential patent information. Since the statute requires inventor membership and provides an alternative solution to the problem addressed in 4, USPTO does not consider the 4 bar to apply to voting PAC members.
