By Christopher P. Singer --
On October 27, 2009, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a notice in the Federal Register (74 Fed. Reg. 55212) outlining a new "Patents Ombudsman Pilot
Program." The program is
intended to provide patent applicants and practitioners with an additional
resource for application-specific prosecution issues, particularly when
prosecution of the application has stalled.
The
USPTO intends for the Patents Ombudsman to be a dedicated resource
that will interact with applicants and practitioners who have concerns about
the progress of their applications. The Office envisions that the ombudsman will be contactable
through a link on the USPTO website, where applicants or representatives can submit their contact information and select an ombudsman for a particular
Technology Center. The bulk of the
communications will be done by telephone and will be kept of a general nature
such that the specific communications would not be made of record, but rather
merely a broad description of the issue will be memorialized in the record
(intended to be completed within one business day of initial contact). When possible, the ombudsman would
immediately resolve the issue, however in situations that are not immediately
resolvable, the ombudsman would shepherd the issue to the appropriate party and
attempt to resolve all issues within ten business days.
The Office has requested that the public submit written
comments regarding the Pilot Program by November 27, 2009. Written comments can be sent by e-mail
to ombudsmanprogram@uspto.gov
or by U.S. Mail to: Mail Stop Comments (Attention: Patents Ombudsman Pilot
Program), Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA
22313-1450. If you would like more
information regarding the Pilot Program, the Office asks that you contact Mindy
Fleisher, Special Programs Advisor (TC 2400) at 571-272-3365, or Pinchus M.
Laufer, Legal Advisor, OPLA, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Patent
Examination Policy at 571-272-7726.
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