Patent and Trademark Office – 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'') issued the sixth edition of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (``TMEP'') on October 12, 2009.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) published a final rule in the Federal Register in August of 2007 to revise the rules of practice for patent cases pertaining to continuing applications and requests for continued examination practices, and for the examination of claims in patent applications (Claims and Continuations Final Rule). The Office is revising the rules of practice in this final rule to remove the changes in the Claims and Continuations Final Rule from the Code of Federal Regulations.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued an order granting interim extension under 35 U.S.C. 156(d)(5) for a one- year interim extension of the term of U.S. Patent No. 5,135,759.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``Office'') is reformatting the certificates of registration issued for registered marks.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued an order granting interim extension under 35 U.S.C. 156(d)(5) for a one- year interim extension of the term of U.S. Patent No. 4,977,138.

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)).

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.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) frequently receives suggestions that the USPTO adopt a deferral of examination procedure. The USPTO is conducting a roundtable to obtain public input from diverse sources to determine whether the support expressed for deferral of examination is isolated or whether there is general support in the patent community and/or the public sector generally for the adoption of some type of deferral of examination. The roundtable is open to the public. Members of the public who wish to participate in the roundtable must do so by request, as the number of participants in the roundtable is limited to ensure that all who are speaking will have a meaningful chance to do so. Members of the public who wish solely to observe need not submit a request. Any member of the public may submit written comments on issues raised at the roundtable or on any issue pertaining to deferral of examination.

The Department of Commerce (United States Patent and Trademark Office) is accepting nominations for its National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI) program. Since establishment by Congress in 1980, the President of the United States has awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation (formerly known as the National Medal of Technology) annually to our Nation's leading innovators. If you know of a candidate who has made an outstanding, lasting contribution to the economy through the promotion of technology or technological manpower, you may obtain a nomination form from: https://www.uspto.gov/nmti. Eligibility and Criteria: Information on eligibility and nomination criteria is provided on the Nominations Guidelines Form at https:// www.uspto.gov/nmti.

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)).

On June 10, 2008, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) published the final rule that amends the rules governing practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) in ex parte patent appeals. The final rule states that the effective date is December 10, 2008, and that the final rule shall apply to all appeals in which an appeal brief is filed on or after the effective date. On June 9, 2008, the Office published a 60-Day Federal Register Notice requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish a new information collection for BPAI items in the final rule and requesting public comment on the burden impact of the final rule under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). On October 8, 2008, the Office published a 30-Day Federal Register Notice stating that the proposal for the collection of information under the final rule was being submitted to OMB and requesting comments on the proposed information collection be submitted to OMB. The proposed information collection is currently under consideration by OMB. Since the review by OMB has not been completed, the Office is hereby notifying the public that the effective and applicability date of the final rule is not December 10, 2008. The effective and applicability dates will be identified in a subsequent notice.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``Office'') is amending the Trademark Rules of Practice to clarify certain requirements for applications, intent to use documents, amendments to classification, requests to divide, and Post Registration practice; to modernize the language of the rules; and to make other miscellaneous changes. For the most part, the rule changes are intended to codify existing practice, as set forth in the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (``TMEP'').

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is amending the rules of practice to adjust the transmittal and search fees for international applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The Office is adjusting the PCT transmittal and search fees to recover the estimated average cost to the Office of processing PCT international applications and preparing international search reports and written opinions for PCT international applications.