The Sponsorship Tool is now available for registered practitioners to sponsor their support staff to work on their behalf. For more information see the Sponsorship Tool Guide. If you are a support staff member who supports multiple practitioners, must you be sponsored by each to work on their behalf? Yes, you must be sponsored by each practitioner for whom you will be conducting business on USPTO.gov.. What information will the practitioners need to sponsor support staff? The attorney will need the USPTO.gov account email address that belongs to their support staff. Is there a single transaction where a support staff user can be sponsored or removed from multiple practitioners when staff is joining or leaving the firm? Sponsoring practitioners can remove their support staff, or the support staff can remove themselves from each sponsoring practitioner. Can a practitioner sponsor another practitioner to work on their behalf? Each practitioner needs their own PKI certificate and USPTO.gov account. A practitioner cannot sponsor another attorney. How many support staff members can a registered practitioner sponsor? Currently there is no limit to the number of support staff members that a registered practitioner can sponsor. How many support staff members can a registered practitioner sponsor at one time? 50 support staff members can be sponsored in a single request. Can support staff members suggest other support staff members for a practitioner to sponsor? Yes, once a support staff user is sponsored by a practitioner, they can request that additional users be sponsored by the same practitioner. The practitioner will need to approve these requests. What happens when a support staff member leaves the law firm? The sponsoring attorney can remove sponsorship, or the departing support staff can leave the sponsorship of the practitioner. Can a support staff member sponsor other support staff members? No, only practitioners can sponsor other users. Where can I find additional information on sponsorship? Basic information about the sponsorship process is provided in the Patent Electronic System Access Document.
