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[HarrisonBergeron]

I have been working as a patent engineer for a while now, and am hoping to take the patent bar this coming Spring.

The first applications I wrote are just starting to get published, and I'm almost ready to submit a couple of my own personal applications.  I believe it's ethical to show these to prospective employers since they are either publicly published or are my own property.

However, I have a few very good ones that I wrote recently.  They've been filed, but won't be published for at least a year.

Is it a breach of professional ethics to allow a prospective employer (not a competing tech firm, but an IP firm) to view (not copy, not keep) these applications at an interview?  Should I get client permission (in writing or verbal?)?  Would a firm even want to see them, or would this be a giant no-no that would actually hurt my chances?

Also, what about office action responses which have already been processed, some of which are for patents that have now been issued?

[Isaac]

If you showed me filed, unpublished applications during an interview, I would not have a favorable impression of your understanding of and committment to client confidentiality.

I would not even consider asking my client for permission to disclose an unpublished application.

[HarrisonBergeron]

Sigh.  I was afraid of that.  I guess I'll have to rely on my own apps and the few published ones (which were pretty heavily edited by my manager), then.

(Just for the record, I don't even review stuff on the subway lest someone peek over my shoulder.)

[Patent Scientist]

It would certainly be totally inappropriate to show unpublished patent applications to a prospective employer.  These are confidential and showing them to a potential employer would be a breach in confidentiality and could result in very severe sanctions and may result in court proceedings.  Simple answer: don't do it, never do it, don't even think about doing that.