Patent and Trademark Office March 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) gives notice of a proposed new system of records entitled ``COMMERCE/ PAT-TM-23 User Access for Web Portals and Information Requests.'' We invite the public to comment on the system announced in this publication.

On November 29, 1999, the President signed into law the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act (the ``Act''), Public Law 106-113, which, among other things, established two Public Advisory Committees to review the policies, goals, performance, budget and user fees of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) with respect to patents, in the case of the Patent Public Advisory Committee, and with respect to trademarks, in the case of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee, and to advise the Director on these matters (now codified at 35 U.S.C. 5). Due to the expiration of current members' terms, the USPTO is requesting nominations for three (3) members to the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) and two (2) members to the Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC) for terms of three years that begin from date of appointment.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) conducted a roundtable to obtain public input on deferral of examination for patent applications, and invited the public to submit written comments on issues raised at the roundtable or on any issue pertaining to deferral of examination. Comment Deadline Date: The deadline for receipt of written comments is May 29, 2009.