Patent and Trademark Office June 2006 – 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 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'') requests comments on a modified plan to remove the paper search collection of marks that include design elements from the USPTO's Trademark Search Facility and replace them with electronic documents. The USPTO has determined that the paper search collection is no longer necessary due to the availability and reliability of the USPTO's electronic search system.

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. 4,850,962.

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. 4,591,585.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has, in response to recent case law, revised its guidelines to be used by USPTO personnel in their review of patent applications to determine whether the claims in a patent application are directed to patent eligible subject matter. The USPTO published a notice requesting comments from the public regarding these interim examination guidelines. The USPTO is extending the period for comment on these interim examination guidelines. Comment Deadline Date: To be ensured of consideration, written comments must be received on or before July 31, 2006. No public hearing will be held.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (referred to as ``we'', ``us'', or ``our'' in this document) is proposing to adjust certain patent fee amounts to reflect fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Also, we are proposing to adjust, by a corresponding amount, a few patent fees that track the affected fees. The Director is authorized to adjust these fees annually by the CPI to recover the higher costs associated with doing business. We are proposing to adjust the patent fees under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (Consolidated Appropriations Act), which revised certain patent fees, and provided for a search fee and examination fee that are separate from the filing fee, during fiscal years 2005 and 2006. Legislation has been introduced in the Congress that would extend the fee revisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act. If, for any period during fiscal year 2007, the fee revisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act are not in effect, then the fee adjustment would apply to the former fee amounts that were in place on October 1, 2004, to December 7, 2004, prior to the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.