# USPTO Customer Number System & Three-Layer Evidence Chain *Litman v. Goldberg — Memo for Counsel* --- ## Summary The "Attorney, Agent, or Firm" line (Line 74) on issued patents is **not typed manually** for each patent. It is **automatically populated** from the firm's USPTO Customer Number database. Understanding this system strengthens the case for firm control and direction. --- ## 1. The USPTO Customer Number System The key database is the **USPTO Customer Number system** inside USPTO prosecution systems: - **Patent Center** (current) - **PAIR** (older, still a data source) - **Patent Examination Data System (PEDS)** (underlying data) Every patent application has a Customer Number assigned for: | Field | Meaning | |-------|---------| | **Customer Number** | Identifies the law firm | | **Attorney list** | Names tied to that customer number | | **Correspondence address** | Where USPTO sends mail | | **Practitioner numbers** | Registered attorneys | **When the patent issues, the system automatically prints the names associated with that customer number on the front page.** The exact database field is **Attorney / Agent / Firm (AAT)**, which pulls from the **Customer Number Attorney List**. --- ## 2. Why This Matters for the Case If Litman's name appears as: > **Nath, Goldberg & Meyer; Richard C. Litman** that means the firm's Customer Number record **still included his name**. That does **not** happen automatically. Someone with access to the firm's customer number had to: - add him - keep him active - **not remove him** That strongly indicates **firm control** of the listing. --- ## 3. The Three-Layer Evidence Chain Taken together, these three layers form a clear commercial narrative: ### Layer 1 — Website (Marketing) - nathlaw.com listed Litman as "RICHARD C. LITMAN, PATENT ATTORNEY" on the Professionals page - Name, photo, biography, title — commercial representation to clients - *Evidence:* Wayback screenshots in `evidence/website/` ### Layer 2 — Patent Prosecution (Government Records) - Patents show: **Attorney, Agent or Firm: Nath, Goldberg & Meyer; Richard C. Litman** - Official USPTO publications, connected to client inventions, under the firm's name - *Evidence:* 12 overlap patents (Exhibit A), 905 patents since 6/15/2020 ### Layer 3 — Operational Control (Firm Systems) - Those patent entries come from the firm's **USPTO Customer Number database** - The customer number record determines: which attorneys are listed, correspondence address, firm name on patents - **Only someone with access to that firm record can maintain that list** - *Evidence:* CN-37833 (NGM custody) — see LITMAN_DEFENSE_REPORT.md exemplar patents --- ## 4. Patent Clusters Prove Systematic Use Many patents with Litman's name appear in **large clusters on the same issue date**. That pattern usually means: - the same docket pipeline - the same customer number - the same attorney-of-record data **This indicates systematic use, not a one-off clerical error.** ### Top Clusters (from 905 patents since 6/15/2020) | Issue Date | Patent Count | Note | |------------|--------------|------| | 2024-04-30 | **48** | Same pipeline | | 2024-06-04 | **32** | Same pipeline | | 2024-05-07 | **30** | Same pipeline | | 2024-03-19 | 28 | Same pipeline | | 2024-04-16 | 28 | Same pipeline | | 2024-02-20 | 26 | Same pipeline | | 2024-03-12 | 25 | Same pipeline | | 2024-05-14 | 24 | Same pipeline | | 2024-05-21 | 17 | Example from feedback | | 2020-08-04 | 9 | Early cluster | **Full cluster data:** `output/PATENT_CLUSTERS_BY_ISSUE_DATE.csv` — 182 unique issue dates, 48 dates with 5+ patents. --- ## 5. Discovery Targets ### Customer Number Data (Internal USPTO / Firm) From the Customer Number database, discovery can show: 1. The customer number used by Goldberg's firm 2. The attorney list tied to that customer number 3. The dates Litman's name remained associated 4. The applications linked to that number **Sources to request:** - Patent Center / PAIR records for applications in the overlap set - PEDS (Patent Examination Data System) data - Firm records: who has access to the firm's USPTO customer number; who added, maintained, or removed names from the attorney list ### PatentsView / USPTO ODP (Public) — Verification **PatentsView** is migrating to the USPTO Open Data Portal (March 2026). The file `PATENTSVIEW_VERIFICATION_LITMAN.csv` contains the verified 905-patent list; post-migration, ODP may add independent count and assignee data. ### Patent Grant Bibliographic XML (Public) USPTO publishes **Patent Grant Bibliographic XML** bulk data. It contains the exact Line-74 attorney data for every patent. - **Source:** https://bulkdata.uspto.gov/data/patent/grant/redbook/bibliographic/ - **Use:** Extract every patent listing Litman's name, by issue date, assignee, firm - **Benefit:** Alternative authoritative source; bulk download (many GB) required --- ## 6. Why This Is Powerful Evidence If Litman's name was still attached to the firm's customer number after termination, it shows: - his identity remained in their prosecution infrastructure - patents automatically continued listing him - the firm benefited from that listing Courts often treat this as **strong circumstantial evidence** of authorization or control. --- ## 7. The Narrative for the Court > **Firm marketing** → **Firm prosecution work** → **Issued patents listing Litman** That chain ties **Goldberg → the firm → the patents → Litman's identity**. It is the kind of pattern judges understand quickly. --- ## Related Files | File | Description | |------|-------------| | `LITMAN_DEFENSE_REPORT.md` | Full defense report; CN-37833 exemplar patents | | `PATENT_CLUSTERS_BY_ISSUE_DATE.csv` | Full cluster analysis (182 dates) | | `MASTER_PATENT_LIST_CHRONOLOGICAL.csv` | 905 patents, chronological | | `PATENTSVIEW_VERIFICATION_LITMAN.csv` | PatentsView verification (independent count + assignee data) | | `SOL_EXHIBIT_LIST_POST_7_21_2024.csv` | 12 post-7/21/24 exhibits |