Patent and Trademark Office – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
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Expanded Collaborative Search Pilot Program
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) conducted two separate Collaborative Search Pilot Programs (CSPs) during the period of 2015 through 2017. One of these programs was conducted with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the other with the Korean Intellectual Patent Office (KIPO). Improvements in patent quality and examination pendency were identified as positive outcomes from these two original CSPs. Building on the success of these two programs, the USPTO is participating in a new, expanded CSP (Expanded CSP) in which applicants may request that multiple partnering Intellectual Property (IP) offices exchange search results for their counterpart applications prior to formulating and issuing their office actions. In Expanded CSP, each designated partner IP office will independently conduct a prior art search for its corresponding counterpart application. The search results will then be exchanged between the designated partner IP office(s) and the USPTO before any IP office issues an office action. By this exchange of search results, the examiners in all designated partner IP offices will have a more comprehensive set of prior art references to consider when making initial patentability determinations. In addition to changing the number of IP offices that may be providing search results to the USPTO, Expanded CSP provides applicants with more flexibility by not requiring that applicants follow the procedures of the First Action Interview Pilot Program (FAI). Expanded CSP will allow the USPTO to study the impact on examination processes resulting from exchanges of search results between the USPTO and multiple partner IP offices prior to formulating and issuing office actions.
Admission To Practice and Roster of Registered Patent Attorneys and Agents Admitted To Practice Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on a proposed information collection proposed extension of an existing information collection.
Grant of Interim Extension of the Term of U.S. Patent No. 6,100,082; OCSTM
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued an order granting a one-year interim extension of the term of U.S. Patent No. 6,100,082.
Notice of Roundtable on Intellectual Property and Trade Shows
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host a roundtable discussion at its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, on October 18, 2017, on addressing intellectual property infringements at trade shows.
Patent Petitions Related to Application and Reexamination Processing Fees
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on a proposed extension of an existing information collection.
Grant of Interim Extension of the Term of U.S. Patent No. 7,179,464; Benralizumab
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued an order granting interim extension for a one-year interim extension of the term of U.S. Patent No. 7,179,464.
Revival of Abandoned Applications, Reinstatement of Abandoned Applications and Cancelled or Expired Registrations, and Petitions to the Director
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) amends its rules regarding petitions to revive an abandoned trademark application and petitions to the Director of the USPTO (Director) regarding other trademark matters and to codify USPTO practice regarding requests for reinstatement of abandoned trademark applications and cancelled or expired trademark registrations. The changes will permit the USPTO to provide more detailed procedures regarding the deadlines and requirements for requesting revival, reinstatement, or other action by the Director. These rules will thereby ensure that the public has notice of the deadlines and requirements for making such requests, facilitate the efficient and consistent processing of such requests, and promote the integrity of application/registration information in the trademark electronic records system as an accurate reflection of the status of applications and registrations.
Grant of Interim Extension of the Term of U.S. Patent No. 5,912,231; LOCILEX® (pexiganan)
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued an order granting interim extension for a one-year interim extension of the term of U.S. Patent No. 5,912,231.
July 2017 Revision of Patent Cooperation Treaty Procedures
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is amending the rules of practice to implement certain amendments made to the Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) that will take effect on July 1, 2017, concerning the transmittal by a Receiving Office to an International Searching Authority of documents relating to an earlier search or classification.
Improving the Accuracy of the Trademark Register: Request for Comments on Possible Streamlined Version of Cancellation Proceedings on Grounds of Abandonment and Nonuse
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``USPTO'') seeks comments from stakeholders, mark owners, and all those interested in the maintenance of an accurate U.S. Trademark Register, on the establishment of a streamlined version of the existing inter partes abandonment and nonuse grounds for cancellation before the USPTO's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (``TTAB'').
Responses to Office Action and Voluntary Amendment Forms
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on a proposed extension of an existing information collection: 0651-0050 (Responses to Office Action and Voluntary Amendment Forms).
Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA) Surveys
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), invites comments on a proposed extension of an existing information collection.
Notice of Public Meeting on Developments in Trade Secret Protection
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will be holding a public symposium on issues relevant to the protection of trade secrets. Since our last symposium on these issues in January 2015, the area of trade secret protection has continued to develop, most notably with the May 11, 2016, enactment of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). Given this legislation and the continuing domestic and international attention to trade secrets, the USPTO will be holding another public symposium to address recent developments.
Trademark and Trial Appeal Board (TTAB) Actions
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 invites public comments about the proposed extension of an existing information collection: Trademark and Trial Appeal Board (TTAB) Actions.
Public Meeting on Consumer Messaging in Connection With Online Transactions Involving Copyrighted Works
The Department of Commerce's Internet Policy Task Force (Task Force) will host a public meeting at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) facility in Alexandria, Virginia, on April 18, 2017, to discuss how best to communicate to consumers regarding license terms and restrictions in connection with online transactions involving copyrighted works. This follows up on one of the recommendations that the Task Force presented in its January 2016 White Paper on Remixes, First Sale, and Statutory Damages.
Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Actions
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), invites comments on a proposed extension of an existing information collection: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Actions.
Initial Patent Applications
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on a proposed extension of an information collection: Initial Patent Applications.
Changes in Requirements for Affidavits or Declarations of Use, Continued Use, or Excusable Nonuse in Trademark Cases
In accordance with the memorandum of January 20, 2017, from the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, entitled ``Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,'' this action delays for 60 days the effective date of the final rule entitled ``Changes in Requirements for Affidavits or Declarations of Use, Continued Use, or Excusable Nonuse in Trademark Cases,'' published in the Federal Register on January 19, 2017. The 60-day delay in effective date is necessary to give agency officials the opportunity for further review of the issues of law and policy raised by this rule.
Reopening of the Period for Comments on a Preliminary Draft Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Currently Being Negotiated at The Hague Conference on Private International Law
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is publishing this notice to reopen the comment period provided in its notice of November 18, 2016, entitled Request for Comments and Notice of Public Meeting on a Preliminary Draft Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Currently Being Negotiated at the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The new deadline for public comments is January 18, 2017.
Request for Comments Regarding the Continuation of the Accelerated Examination Program
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is requesting comments from its stakeholders on whether the accelerated examination program should be retained. In an August 16, 2016 notice updating the program to reflect changes in the law and examination practice, the USPTO indicated that the number of accelerated examination requests has been quite low. In particular, in each of the fiscal years 2012-2015, fewer than 250 applications were accepted into the accelerated examination program. Accordingly, the USPTO seeks feedback from its stakeholders on whether the accelerated examination program provides a sufficient benefit to the public to justify the cost of implementation. Comment Deadline: To be ensured of consideration, written comments must be received on or before March 13, 2017. No public hearing will be held. Addresses for Comments: Written comments should be sent by electronic mail addressed to AEcomments2016@uspto.gov. Comments may also be submitted by mail addressed to: Mail Stop CommentsPatents, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, marked to the attention of Pinchus Laufer, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy. Although comments may be submitted by mail, the USPTO prefers to receive comments via the Internet. The comments will be available for public inspection at the Office of the Commissioner for Patents, located in Madison East, Tenth Floor, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia, and will be available via the USPTO Internet Web site at https://www.uspto.gov. Because comments will be available for public inspection, information that is not desired to be made public, such as an address or phone number, should not be included in the comments.
Extension of the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented a pilot program (Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program) in which an applicant, under certain conditions, can request a 12-month time period to pay the search fee, the examination fee, any excess claim fees, and the surcharge (for the late submission of the search fee and the examination fee) in a nonprovisional application. The Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program benefits applicants by permitting additional time to determine if patent protection should be soughtat a relatively low costand by permitting applicants to focus efforts on commercialization during this period. The Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program benefits the USPTO and the public by adding publications to the body of prior art, and by removing from the USPTO's workload those nonprovisional applications for which applicants later decide not to pursue examination. While the USPTO has not yet completed its evaluation of the program, the number of participants in the program over the past several years indicates that there may be sufficient benefits to the patent community. Thus, the USPTO is extending the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program until January 2, 2018, to allow the USPTO to continue its evaluation of the pilot program. The requirements of the program have not changed.
Miscellaneous Changes to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Rules of Practice; Correction
The United States Patent and Trademark Office published in the Federal Register on October 7, 2016 a final rule, which will become effective on January 14, 2017, revising the Rules of Practice before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. This document corrects errors in certain cross-references, clarifies the manner of testimony taken in a foreign country and the process in depositions upon written questions, and reincorporates the time frames for cross appeals and cross actions in that rule.
Native American Tribal Insignia Database
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), is proposing an extension of an existing information collection; the Native American Tribal Insignia Database.
National Telecommunications and Information Administration; Notice of Public Meeting on Developing the Digital Marketplace for Copyrighted Works
The Department of Commerce's Internet Policy Task Force (Task Force) will hold a conference at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) facility in Alexandria, Virginia, on December 9, 2016, to discuss current initiatives and technologies used to develop a more robust and collaborative digital marketplace for copyrighted works and to consider ways forward to help achieve that result. This follows up on an earlier public meeting held by the Task Force on April 1, 2015, which focused on how the Government can assist in facilitating the development and use of standard identifiers for all types of works of authorship.
Request for Comments and Notice of Public Meeting on a Preliminary Draft Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Currently Being Negotiated at The Hague Conference on Private International Law
The Hague Conference on Private International Law (``The Hague Conference''), an international organization in the Netherlands, is sponsoring negotiations for a convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters. In February 2016, the Council on General Affairs and Policy of The Hague Conference created a Special Commission on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments (``the Special Commission'') to prepare a preliminary draft text of the convention, which is subject to a formal diplomatic negotiation open to member States of The Hague Conference. At its first session in June 2016, the Special Commission produced a Preliminary Draft Convention that contains general and specific provisions that would apply to the recognition and enforcement of judgments arising from transnational intellectual property disputes. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seeks public comments on the June 2016 Preliminary Draft Convention (the ``Preliminary Draft'') as it relates to intellectual property matters. To assist the USPTO in determining the best way to address this topic, the USPTO will host a public meeting to obtain public input. The meeting will be open to the public and will provide a forum for discussion of the questions identified in this notice. Written comments in response to the questions set forth in this notice also are requested.
Notice of Roundtables and Request for Comments Related to Patent Subject Matter Eligibility; Addition of USPTO HQ Location for Roundtable 2
The United States Patent and Trademark Office publishes this notice to announce that interested persons may participate at the USPTO's Alexandria, VA office for its Roundtable to be held on December 5, 2016.
Trademark Fee Adjustment; Correction
This document contains corrections to tables included in the preamble of the final rule implementing changes to trademark fees published in the Federal Register of Friday, October 21, 2016.
International Trademark Classification Changes
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues a final rule to incorporate classification changes adopted by the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Agreement). These changes are effective January 1, 2017, and are listed in the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (11th ed., ver. 2017), which is published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Revival of Abandoned Applications, Reinstatement of Abandoned Applications and Cancelled or Expired Registrations, and Petitions to the Director
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) proposes to amend its rules regarding petitions to revive an abandoned application and petitions to the Director of the USPTO (Director) regarding other matters, and to codify USPTO practice regarding requests for reinstatement of abandoned applications and cancelled or expired registrations. The proposed changes will permit the USPTO to provide more detailed procedures regarding the deadlines and requirements for requesting revival, reinstatement, or other action by the Director. These rules will thereby ensure that the public has notice of the deadlines and requirements for making such requests, facilitate the efficient and consistent processing of such requests, and promote the integrity of application/registration information in the trademark electronic records system as an accurate reflection of the status of applications and registrations.
Revision of the Duty To Disclose Information in Patent Applications and Reexamination Proceedings
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or PTO) is proposing revisions to the materiality standard for the duty to disclose information in patent applications and reexamination proceedings (duty of disclosure) in light of a 2011 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit). The Office previously issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on July 21, 2011, and due to the passage of time since the comment period closed in 2011, the Office considers it appropriate to seek additional comments from our stakeholders before issuing a final rulemaking. In the current notice of proposed rulemaking, the Office is seeking public comments on the rules of practice, as revised in response to the comments received from our stakeholders.
Standard ST.26-Request for Comments on the Recommended Standard for the Presentation of Nucleotide and Amino Acid Sequence Listings Using XML (eXtensible Markup Language)
Patent applications that contain disclosures of nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences must contain sequence information in a separate part of the disclosure in a specified manner. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is seeking additional comments to obtain views of the public on the continuing international effort to revise the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) standard for the presentation of nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences and the consequent changes to the United States rules of practice. The revised standard will be known as WIPO Standard ST.26. An interim version of WIPO Standard ST.26 was adopted in March 2016 by the Committee on WIPO Standards (CWS), but has not been implemented pending further consideration by the CWS. Since the adoption of the interim version, efforts have been undertaken to finalize WIPO Standard ST.26 and to improve its effectiveness once implemented. One aspect of that continuing effort is a proposed guidance document annex, which will include a variety of sequence disclosure examples, to ensure understanding and uniform application of standard requirements. Comments may be offered on any aspect of this effort, and in particular, (a) the comprehensiveness and clarity of WIPO Standard ST.26 and the proposed guidance document annex, and (b) the proposed authoring/validation tool for creation of a sequence listing in XML.
Trademark Fee Adjustment
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) is amending its rules to set or increase certain trademark fees, as authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA). The fees will allow the Office to further USPTO strategic objectives by: Better aligning fees with the full cost of the relevant products and services; protecting the integrity of the register by incentivizing more timely filing or examination of applications and other filings and more efficient resolution of appeals and trials; and promoting the efficiency of the process, in large part through lower-cost electronic filing options. The changes will also continue to recover the aggregate estimated cost of Trademark and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) operations and USPTO administrative services that support Trademark operations.
Notice of Roundtables and Request for Comments Related to Patent Subject Matter Eligibility
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``USPTO'') seeks public input on patent subject matter eligibility in view of recent decisions by the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The USPTO remains interested in feedback from members of the public to improve the USPTO's existing subject matter eligibility guidance and training examples. The USPTO is also interested in facilitating a discussion among members of the public regarding the legal contours of eligible subject matter in the U.S. patent system. The USPTO will be facilitating these discussions by hosting two roundtable events. The first roundtable will be directed to receiving feedback from members of the public to improve the USPTO's existing subject matter eligibility guidance and training examples. The second roundtable will be focused on receiving feedback regarding larger questions concerning the legal contours of eligible subject matter in the U.S. patent system. The roundtables will provide a forum for discussion of the topics identified in this notice.
Secrecy and License To Export
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 extension 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)).
Miscellaneous Changes to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Rules of Practice
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``USPTO'' or ``Office'') is amending the Trademark Rules of Practice (``Trademark Rules'' or ``Rules''), in particular the rules pertinent to practice before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (``Board''), to benefit the public by providing for more efficiency and clarity in inter partes and ex parte proceedings. Certain amendments are directed to reducing the burden on the parties, to conforming the rules to current practice, to updating references that have changed, to reflecting technologic changes, and to ensuring the usage of standard, current terminology. This final rule also furthers strategic objectives of the Office to increase end-to-end electronic processing.
Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees During Fiscal Year 2017
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) proposes to set or adjust patent fees as authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (Act or AIA). The USPTO is a business- like operation where external factors affect the productivity of the workforce and the demand for patent products and services. The proposed fee adjustments are needed to provide the Office with a sufficient amount of aggregate revenue to recover its aggregate cost of patent operations (based on current projections), while maintaining momentum towards achieving strategic goals. This rulemaking represents the second iteration of patent fee rulemaking by the USPTO to set fees under the authority of the AIA; the first AIA patent fee setting rule was published in January 2013. This current rulemaking is a result of the USPTO assessing its costs and fees, as is consistent with federal fee setting standards. Following a biennial review of fees, costs, and revenues that began in 2015, the Office concluded that further targeted fee adjustments were necessary to continue funding patent operations, enhance patent quality, and continue to work toward patent pendency goals, strengthen the Office's information technology (IT) capability and infrastructure, and achieve operating reserve targets. Further, in several instances, the fee change proposals offered during the biennial fee review process were enhanced by the availability of cost and workload data (e.g., the number of requests for a service) that was not available in 2013. As a result, the 205 proposed fee adjustments outlined in this proposed rule align directly with the Office's strategic goals and four key fee setting policy factors, discussed in detail in Part V.
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request, Pro Bono Survey; Correction
The United States Patent and Trademark Office published a document in the Federal Register on August 22, 2016, concerning requests for comments on a Pro Bono Survey. The Pro Bono Survey is used by the Pro Bono Advisory Council (PBAC) and the USPTO to provide information to the USPTO regarding the current status and effectiveness of each region's pro bono hub. The document contained an incorrect cost burden based on the estimate of the hourly burden rate. The hourly rate estimate should use the Bureau of Labor Statistics hourly wage for lawyers instead of the American Intellectual Property Law Association hourly wage for intellectual property lawyers.
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