Patent and Trademark Office 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the revision of a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the extension of a currently approved collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is amending the system of records listed under ``COMMERCE/PAT-TM-5 Non- Registered Persons Rendering Assistance to Patent Applicants.'' This action is being taken to update the Privacy Act notice. We invite the public to comment on the amendments noted in this publication.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a certificate under 35 U.S.C. 156(d)(5) for a one-year interim extension of the term of U.S. Patent No. 4,650,787.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is amending the rules of practice to require that: A copy of the English translation of a foreign-language provisional application be filed in the provisional application if a nonprovisional application claims the benefit of the provisional application; a copy of documentary evidence supporting a claim of ownership be recorded in the Office's assignment records when an assignee takes action in a patent matter; and separate copies of a document be submitted to the Office for recording in the Office's assignment records, each accompanied by a cover sheet, if the document to be recorded includes an interest in, or a transaction involving, both patents and trademarks.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is conducting a study of its restriction practice as part of its 21st Century Strategic Plan to transform the USPTO into a quality focused, highly productive, responsive organization supporting a market-driven intellectual property system. The USPTO prepared a ``Green Paper'' describing and evaluating four options to reform restriction practice suggested by various members of the public, and published a notice on June 6, 2005, at 70 FR 32761 seeking public comment on the Green Paper. The USPTO is extending the period for public comment until September 14, 2005.

This advance notice of proposed rule making is to inform the public that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is considering amending its rules of practice to require submission of chemical and three-dimensional (3-D) biological structural data in electronic format. The USPTO anticipates that requiring submission of chemical and 3-D biological structural data in electronic format in patent applications will improve the processing and examination of patent applications that include such data, as well as the dissemination of such data to searchable public databases. The purpose of this notice is to encourage comments on this topic, in the form of responses to the questions posed in this notice, from industry, academia, the patent bars, and members of the public. Comment Deadline Date: To be ensured of consideration, written comments must be received on or before August 22, 2005. No public hearing will be held.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

Among other changes to patent and trademark fees, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (Consolidated Appropriations Act), splits the national fee for Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications entering the national stage into a separate national fee, search fee and examination fee, during fiscal years 2005 and 2006. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is reducing the search fee and examination fee for certain PCT applications entering the national stage.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a certificate under 35 U.S.C. 156(d)(5) for a third one-year interim extension of the term of U.S. Patent No. 4,567,264.

Among other changes to patent and trademark fees, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (Consolidated Appropriations Act), splits the former patent application basic filing fee into a separate basic filing (or basic national) fee, search fee and examination fee, and requires an additional fee (application size fee) for applications whose specification and drawings exceed 100 sheets of paper, during fiscal years 2005 and 2006. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is changing its practice for handling patent applications filed without the appropriate basic filing (or basic national) fee, search fee and examination fee.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the submission of a extension of a currently approved collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is proposing changes to the rules of practice concerning persons acting with limited recognition in a patent matter, the filing of the English translation of foreign-language provisional applications, and the submission of evidence ownership when an assignee takes action in a patent matter. The Office is proposing changes to the rules of practice to allow a person acting with limited recognition to be given a power of attorney and authorized to sign amendments and other correspondence respecting patent applications, reexamination proceedings, and other proceedings. A person granted limited recognition is not a registered patent attorney or agent. The Office is also proposing changes to the rules of practice to require that a copy of the English translation of a foreign-language provisional application be filed in the provisional application (rather than in either the provisional application or the nonprovisional application) if a non-provisional application claims the benefit of the provisional application. In addition, the Office is proposing changes to require that a copy of documentary evidence of ownership be recorded in the Office's assignment records when an assignee takes action in a patent matter, and that separate copies of a document be submitted to the Office for recording in the Office's assignment records, each accompanied by a cover sheet, if the document to be recorded includes an interest in, or a transaction involving, both patents and trademarks.

Among other changes to patent and trademark fees, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (Consolidated Appropriations Act), splits the patent application filing fee into a separate filing fee, search fee and examination fee, and requires an additional fee (application size fee) for applications whose specification and drawings exceed 100 sheets of paper, during fiscal years 2005 and 2006. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is in this notice proposing changes in the Office's practice for handling patent applications filed without the appropriate filing, search, and examination fees. The Office has implemented the changes to the patent fees provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act in a separate rulemaking.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (Consolidated Appropriations Act), revises patent fees in general, and provides for a search fee and examination fee that are separate from the filing fee, during fiscal years 2005 and 2006. This final rule revises the patent fees set forth in the rules of practice to conform them to the patent fees set forth in the Consolidated Appropriations Act.