Customer Partnership Meeting

1
Customer Partnership Meeting John Doll
Commissioner for Patents
2
Notice of Proposed Rules Changes

• Claims
• Continuing Applications
• Information Disclosure Statements

3
Markush/Restriction practice

• Markush Practice
• Restriction/Divisional practice

4
Alternative Examination Products

• Potential products for strategic plan include
• Different Levels of Examination
• Deferred examination
• Accelerated examination
• Traditional examination
• Collaborative examination

5
FY 2007 RoadShows

• Alternative Examination Products
• Patentee / Trade Organization / User Input
• Wants and Needs for IP Protection
• Different Levels of Examination / Protection
• Differed Examination
• Peer Review
• Collaborative Examination
• Markush / Generic Claims
• Notice of Proposed Rule Making
• Input on Potential Solutions

6
FY 2006 Results

• Improving Quality is our Highest Priority

2006 Goal 2006 Result
4 allowance error 3.5 allowance error
86 in-process compliance 90 in-process compliance

7
FY 2006 TC 1600 Results

• Improving Quality is our Highest Priority

2006 Goal 2006 Result
5.0 allowance error 5.0 allowance error
86 in-process compliance 88.7 in-process compliance

8
Current Quality Initiatives

• Interviews before
• First Action
• Second Pair of Eyes
• In Process Reviews
• Appeal Specialists
• Pre-Appeal
• Brief Conferences

• Appeal Conferences
• GS-12 Certification Exam
• Primary Examiner
• Recertification
• TC Targeted Areas
• of Review
• New Patent Examiner
• Training Academy

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Allowance Error Rate
10
Allowance Rate
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Error and Allowance Rates
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Future Quality Initiatives

• Strategic Plan initiatives to improve quality
  include
• Improving Search Quality
• Additional Examiner Resources for Search
• Peer Review Pilot
• Third Party Submission / Comment
• Develop Quality Metrics
• Seeking Input from Public
• External Validation
• Quasi-Governmental, Attorneys on Sabbatical, or
  an Independent Search Firm

13
UPR Applications Filed

• FY 06 Goal 414,966
• Actual 419,760
• 9.2 over 2005
• 1.2 over goal

UPR is Utility, Plant and Re-Issue Applications
14
TC 1600 Filings

• FY06 40,687 (prelim)
• 7 over 2005

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TC Application Inventory
1600 1700 2100 2600 2800 3600 3700 Total Design
New Applications1 9/30/2005 62,644 72,697 76,529 115,585 94,425 70,354 83,225 586,580 24,534
New Applications1 9/30/2006 62,663 88,362 84,139 131,675 107,195 82,324 96,963 674,233 25,817
Overall Pending Applications2 9/30/2005 107,647 120,767 117,728 167,721 159,687 117,045 130,168 932,300 38,104
Overall Pending Applications2 9/30/2006 114,112 137,866 129,573 181,489 174,758 129,260 147,651 1,036,875 39,430
1 New Application inventory is the number of
new applications designated or assigned to a
technology center awaiting a first action. 2
Overall Pending Application inventory is the
total number of applications designated or
assigned to a technology center in an active
status. Includes new applications rejected
awaiting response amended under appeal or
interference suspended reexams and allowed
applications awaiting grant publication. Total
inventory includes applications not assigned to a
particular TC, awaiting processing either pre- or
post-examination.
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TC Application Inventory
1610 1620 1630 1640 1650 1660 Total 1600 Total UPR
New Applications1 9/30/2005 62,644 586,580
New Applications1 9/30/2006 20,174 11,320 11,259 12,904 6,805 1,201 62,663 674,233
Overall Pending Applications2 9/30/2005 107,647 932,300
Overall Pending Applications2 9/30/2006 29,365 19,159 23,944 24,523 15,186 1,935 114,112 1,036,875
1 New Application inventory is the number of
new applications designated or assigned to a
technology center awaiting a first action. 2
Overall Pending Application inventory is the
total number of applications designated or
assigned to a technology center in an active
status. Includes new applications rejected
awaiting response amended under appeal or
interference suspended reexams and allowed
applications awaiting grant publication.
17
Technology Center Rework Stats
Rework first actions are those actions that
are in a Continuing (CONs and CIPs), RCE, CPA or
129(a) applications (excludes Divisionals).
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TC 1600 Rework Stats
Rework first actions are those actions that
are in a Continuing (CONs and CIPs), RCE, CPA or
129(a) applications (excludes Divisionals).
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Inventory by Art Area in TC 1600
High Inventory Art Areas Months of Inventory
1610 Drugs, Bio-affecting and Body Treatment 42
1620 Organic Chemistry and Heterocyclic Compounds 20
1631 - Bioinformatics 20
1630 Nucleic Acids, Gene Expression, Animal Cloning 16
1640 Antibodies and Immunology 17
1650 Microbiology, Recombinant Enzymes Proteins 13
1660 - Plants 17
The number of months it would take to reach a
first action on the merits (e.g., an action
addressing patentability issues) on a new
application filed October 2006 at todays
production rate. Todays production rate means
that there are no changes in production due to
hiring, attrition, changes to examination
processing or examination efficiencies, and that
applications are taken up in the order of filing
in the given art unit/area. Of course, USPTO is
taking aggressive steps to ensure changes that
will significantly lower the inventory rates in
high-inventory art areas.
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Hires and Attritions
1600 1700 2100 2600 2800 3600 3700 Corps Design
FY 05 Hires 101 58 225 169 184 91 131 959 19
FY 05 Attritions 42 39 93 92 54 55 50 425 10
FY 06 BOY Examiner Staff 470 457 694 723 871 451 511 4177 81
FY 06 Hiring (10/1/06) 96 88 259 228 226 144 152 1193 25
FY 06 Attrits (10/1/06) 53 56 96 84 96 49 76 510 1
FY 07 Hiring Goal 64 160 208 304 112 176 176 1200 10
FY 06 New Hires as a Percent of Examiner Staffing in the TC 20 19 37 32 26 32 30 29 31
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TC 1600 Hires and Attrits
1610 1620 1630 1640 1650 1660 1600 Corps
FY 05 Hires 16 6 33 30 16 0 101 959
FY 05 Attritions 5 10 12 10 4 1 42 425
FY 06 BOY Examiner Staff 67 65 124 127 81 6 470 4177
FY 06 Hiring (10/1/06) 22 19 20 20 15 0 96 1193
FY 06 Attrits (10/1/06) 11 8 13 12 9 0 53 510
FY 07 Hiring Goal 32 16 6 6 4 0 64 1200
FY 06 New Hires as a Percent of Examiner Staffing in the TC 33 29 16 16 19 0 20 29
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Contact Information

• John Doll
• Commissioner for Patents
• e-mail john.doll_at_uspto.gov
• Phone [phone]

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Thank you.