Patent and Trademark Office April 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
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Request for Comments Regarding the Impact of the Proliferation of Artificial Intelligence on Prior Art, the Knowledge of a Person Having Ordinary Skill in the Art, and Determinations of Patentability Made in View of the Foregoing
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) seeks public comments regarding the impact of the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) on prior art, the knowledge of a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA), and determinations of patentability made in view of the foregoing. The increasing power and deployment of AI has the potential to provide tremendous societal and economic benefits and foster a new wave of innovation and creativity while also posing novel challenges and opportunities for intellectual property (IP) policy. Through the AI and Emerging Technologies Partnership (AI/ET Partnership), the USPTO has been actively engaging with the innovation community and AI experts on IP policy in view of AI. To build on these efforts, the USPTO is requesting written public comments on how the proliferation of AI could affect certain evaluations made by the Office, including what qualifies as prior art, the assessment of the level of skill of a PHOSITA, and determinations of patentability made in view of these evaluations. The USPTO expects that the responses received will help the Office evaluate the need for further guidance on these matters, aid in the development of any such guidance, and help inform the USPTO's work in the courts and in providing technical advice to Congress.
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
The Department of Commerce (Department)/United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is issuing this notice of its intent to modify the Privacy Act system of records under "COMMERCE/PAT-TM-10, Deposit Accounts and Electronic Funds Transfer Profiles." This system of records allows the USPTO to collect and maintain personal and financial information on customers who submit payments for services and processing fees to the USPTO.
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Applications for Trademark Registration
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651- 0009 (Applications for Trademark Registration). The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of the information collection to OMB.
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Fastener Quality Act Insignia Recordal Process
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651- 0028 Fastener Quality Act Insignia Recordal Process. The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of the information collection to OMB.
Patent Trial and Appeal Board Rules of Practice for Briefing Discretionary Denial Issues, and Rules for 325(d) Considerations, Instituting Parallel and Serial Petitions, and Termination Due to Settlement Agreement
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) proposes modifications to the rules of practice for inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) that the Director and, by delegation, the PTAB will use in exercising discretion to institute IPRs and PGRs. The Office proposes these provisions in light of stakeholder feedback received in response to an October 2020 Request for Comments (RFC) and an April 2023 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). The proposals enhance and build on existing precedent and guidance regarding the exercise of the Director's discretion pursuant to the America Invents Act (AIA) to determine whether to institute an IPR or PGR proceeding with regard to serial petitions, parallel petitions, and petitions implicating the same or substantially the same art or arguments previously presented to the Office. The proposed rules also provide a separate briefing process for discretionary institution arguments and align the procedures for termination of proceedings pre- and post- institution.
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Trademark Submissions Regarding Correspondence and Regarding Attorney Representation
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651- 0056 (Trademark Submissions Regarding Correspondence and Regarding Attorney Representation). The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of the information collection to OMB.
Rules Governing Director Review of Patent Trial and Appeal Board Decisions
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) proposes new rules to govern the process for the review of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) decisions in America Invents Act (AIA) proceedings by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Director). Specifically, the USPTO proposes these rules in light of stakeholder feedback received in response to a request for comments (RFC). The proposed rules promote the accuracy, consistency, and integrity of PTAB decision-making in Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA) proceedings.
Guidance on Use of Artificial Intelligence-Based Tools in Practice Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues this guidance to inform practitioners and the public of the important issues that patent and trademark professionals, innovators, and entrepreneurs must navigate while using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in matters before the USPTO. The USPTO recognizes the possibility that AI will be used to prepare and prosecute patent and trademark applications, as well as other filings before the Office including filings submitted to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). While the USPTO is committed to maximizing AI's benefits and seeing them distributed broadly across society, the USPTO recognizes the need, through technical mitigations and human governance, to cabin the risks arising from the use of AI in practice before the USPTO. At this time, based on the USPTO's engagement with stakeholders through the USPTO's AI and Emerging Technologies (ET) Partnership (AI/ET Partnership) and a review of existing rules, the USPTO has determined that existing rules protect the USPTO's ecosystem against such potential perils. This guidance reminds individuals involved in proceedings before the USPTO of the pertinent rules and policies, helps inform those same individuals of the risks associated with the use of AI systems, and provides suggestions to mitigate those risks. The USPTO will continue to engage with the public, including through the AI/ET Partnership, as the use of AI advances and evolves.
Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees During Fiscal Year 2025
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) proposes to set or adjust patent fees as authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), as amended by the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018 (SUCCESS Act). The proposed fee adjustments are needed to provide the USPTO with sufficient aggregate revenue to recover the aggregate costs of patent operations in future years (based on assumptions and estimates found in the agency's Fiscal Year 2025 Congressional Justification (FY 2025 Budget)), including implementing the USPTO 2022-2026 Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan).
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