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

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has a procedure under which an application will be advanced out of turn (accorded special status) for examination if the applicant files a petition to make special with the appropriate showing. The USPTO is providing an additional temporary basis under which a small entity applicant may have an application accorded special status for examination if the applicant expressly abandons another copending unexamined application. This procedure will allow small entity applicants having multiple applications currently pending before the USPTO to have greater control over the priority with which their applications are examined while also stimulating a reduction of the backlog of unexamined patent applications pending before the USPTO.

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 National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI) Nomination Evaluation Committee will meet in closed session on Tuesday, November 24, 2009. The primary purpose of the meeting is the discussion of relative merits of persons and companies nominated for the NMTI award.