[Patentcenter] Refusal to correct priority claim listing

[David Boundy]

The PTO's procedural rules don't require APA notice and comment,
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1104278158642279094 but do
require the rest of the rulemaking pipeline -- Paperwork Reduction Act, and
publication in the Federal Register.

Executive Order 13891
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/15/2019-22623/promoting-the-rule-of-law-through-improved-agency-guidance-documents
requires agencies to clean up acts on guidance.  Two provisions might be
relevant: agencies must disclaim any enforcement: "each guidance document
clearly state that it does not bind the public, except as authorized by law
or as incorporated into a contract" and must provide "procedures for the
public to petition for withdrawal or modification of a particular guidance
document, including a designation of the officials to which petitions
should be directed "

Executive Order 13892
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/15/2019-22624/promoting-the-rule-of-law-through-transparency-and-fairness-in-civil-administrative-enforcement-and
requires

Guidance documents may not be used to impose new standards of conduct on
persons outside the executive branch except as expressly authorized by law
or as expressly incorporated into a contract. When an agency takes an
administrative enforcement action, engages in adjudication, or otherwise
makes a determination that has legal consequence for a person, it must
establish a violation of law by applying statutes or regulations. The
agency may not treat noncompliance with a standard of conduct announced
solely in a guidance document as itself a violation of applicable statutes
or regulations.

These two include the same disclaimer that appears at the bottom of all
executive orders: " This order is not intended to, and does not, create any
right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in
equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies,
or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person."
Except that this President likes to fire people that cross him.

On Wed, Jun 11, 2025 at 4:12 AM Dan Feigelson via Patentcenter <
patentcenter at oppedahl-lists.com> wrote:

> Agree that it's unlikely to ever be cost-effective to sue, but still worth
> knowing if those ADS instructions would stand up to scrutiny if someone DID
> decide to sue.
>
> Dan
>
> On Wed, Jun 11, 2025 at 5:43 AM Scott Nielson <scnielson at outlook.com>
> wrote:
>
>> The ADS instructions require domestic benefit claims to be listed in
>> order of filing from most recent at the top to oldest at the bottom or they
>> will not be recognized the benefit claim (happened to me last fall because
>> I let Patent Center Autofill the benefit claim and the programmers didn't
>> follow the ADS instructions). They probably aren't legally binding but who
>> will sue the PTO  to get them overturned?
>>
>> In Robert's situation, it doesn't really matter whether they have the
>> force of rules because he followed them.
>>
> --
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>


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