USPTO News Briefs

By Donald Zuhn --

USPTO Implements New Peer Review Pilot Program

In a notice published earlier this month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced the launch of a new one-year pilot program intended to test the scalability of its peer review program, in which the public can submit documents and comments that might be useful in the examination of participating applications.  Under the new pilot program, the pool of candidate applications will be expanded to include applications in the life sciences, telecommunications, business methods, and computer hardware and software technology areas, and the total number of applications that may be accepted into the program will be significantly increased.

The first peer review pilot program was announced in June of 2007, and then expanded one year later to extend the program's duration, increase the maximum number of participating applications, and expand the scope of applications eligible for the program.  During the initial pilot, 189 applications were accepted into the pilot program, 603 pieces of prior art were submitted by more than 500 unique reviewers, and over 2,700 people registered on the Peer To Patent Web site.

The public aspects of the new pilot program will be administered by Peer To Patent, organized by the New York Law School Center for Patent Innovations.  Additional information about the pilot can be found at the Peer To Patent website.

Under the pilot, a limited number of participating applications will be placed onto the Peer To Patent website for the purposes of collaborative review.  These applications will be analyzed by members of the public, who will determine the (up to) six most pertinent documents, which will then be submitted to the Office.  The new pilot will accept requests for participation between October 25, 2010 and September 30, 2011, or until 1,000 participating applications have been accepted, whichever occurs first.  The pilot will be restricted to applications in classes and subclasses designated here.  Applicants wishing to participate in the pilot must submit a certification and request to participate in the program (Form PTO/SB/422); the request must also be submitted no later than one month after the application publication date for the application to be considered for participation.  In addition, applications participating in the Accelerated Examination, Patent Prosecution Highway, First Action Interview Pilot Program, Patent Application Backlog Reduction Stimulus Plan, or Pilot Program for Green Technologies will be ineligible for the new peer review pilot program.

USPTO to Open Satellite Office in Detroit

Last week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and USPTO Director David Kappos announced that the USPTO plans to open its first satellite office in Detroit sometime next year.  According to a press release issued by the Patent Office, the satellite office is expected to create 100 new jobs in its first year of operations.  In selecting Detroit as the site of its first satellite office, the USPTO said it considered a broad range of factors, including having a high percentage of scientists and engineers in the workforce; providing access to major research institutions, particularly leading universities; and supporting a high volume of patenting activity and significant numbers of patent agents and attorneys in the area.  The USPTO will consider opening additional offices following an evaluation of the Detroit office.

Deputy Director to Depart

The USPTO announced last week that Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO Sharon Barner (at right) will be leaving the Office effective January 14, 2011.  Deputy Director Barner was appointed to the post in October 2009.  During her tenure, the Deputy Director participated in the development of the 2010-2015 USPTO Strategic Plan, and led fifteen foreign missions to countries including Brazil, China, India, Mexico and Russia to meet with representatives of government, academia, and industry in order to raise awareness of the importance of intellectual property and its critical role in economic, social, and cultural development.  Deputy Director Barner noted that "[t]he Agency has made great progress under the leadership of Director Kappos in the areas of reducing the patent backlog, increasing operational efficiency, and exerting leadership in IP policy domestically and internationally."  Prior to her appointment, Ms. Barner had been a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP in Chicago where she chaired the firm's Intellectual Property Department.

USPTO Creates Online Subscription Center

Earlier this week, the USPTO announced the launch of its online Subscription Center, where applicants and practitioners can easily subscribe via e-mail to an array of USPTO newsletters and alerts.  Among the subscription options are the following:

• USPTO Press Releases - announcements of USPTO initiatives, programs and policies -- the same announcements that are provided to the media.
• USPTO Director's Forum Blog -- a weekly interactive blog by USPTO Director David Kappos discussing the latest topics of interest to the USPTO and the intellectual property community.
• USPTO Monthly Activity Reports -- a monthly at-a-glance summary of new initiatives, events and significant media coverage during the previous month.
• Inventor's Eye -- online publication for and about America’s independent and small entity inventor community.  Inventor's Eye comes out every other month.  Each issue will feature information you can use, tips on working with the USPTO; events; organizations and meetings of interest to the community; issues that impact independent and small entity inventors; and stories about people like you who have become successful inventors.
• Patents Alerts -- receive news, featured stories, event announcements, and tips for using Patents EFS-Web, e-Office Action, PDX and other e-commerce initiatives.

Comments

[Michael Feigin, Patent Attorney NJ NY PA]

The peer to peer thing has been around for a while, but as an attorney, I really wouldn't wnat to subject my clients to it... it just doesn't seem worth it. Plus, it's only available in certain classes.

E-mail updates from the USPTO... now that's a good thing. ...and I want a satelite office in the NY area so I can do in person interviews here. ...but I wonder if I'll end up with Examiners in Detroit, instead. Will Examiners be chosen by tech area or proximity to the filer?

[patent litigation]

While I understand at least some of the reasons for the choice of locale, I had hoped that the USPTO would open its first satellite patent law office in a location that I might actually want to visit or live -- Southern California, for instance. However, hopefully the USPTO's selection of Detroit will help improve that city's economy, in addition to increasing efficiency at the USPTO and taking a bite out of its infamous backlog.
http://www.ipdigit.eu/?p=552

[Bruce Lev, Patent Agent FL, AZ]

Phoenix, Arizona should be considered next. Phoenix has many top notch universities, research facilities, and patent agents and lawyers. Further, the infrastructure is excellent, and housing prices and taxes are very low. Also a great place for PTO employees to raise a family.