National Association of Patent Practioners Annual Meeting Presenters Robin Evans, Acting Regional Director Seema Rao, Technology Center Director Steve Hong, SPE Eliseo Ramos-Feliciano, SPE Amy Ng, SPE 2

Overview of the USPTO 8,550 Patent Examiners572,575 Patent Applications Pending227,775 (UPR) Patents Issued424 Trademark Examining Attorneys371,915 Trademark Applications133,833 Certificates of Registration 3 USPTO Headquarters in Alexandria, VA

Satellite Offices 4

Elijah J. McCoy United States Patent and Trademark Office, Detroit MI Open as of July 2012, Christal Sheppard, Regional Director Hired over 120 patent examiners, 9 PTAB judges Rocky Mountain Regional Office, Denver CO Open as of June 2014, Robin Evans, acting Regional Director Hired over 100 patent examiners, 12 PTAB judges Silicon Valley Satellite Office Scheduled to Open October 2015, John Cabeca, Regional Director 19 PTAB judges Texas Regional Satellite Office, Dallas TX Scheduled to Open November PTAB judges 5

Major Initiatives and Actions Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative Greater transparency Increased collaboration Expanded outreach and education

Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative

Office of Patent Quality Organization 8 Commissioner for Patents Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy Deputy Commissioner for International Patent Cooperation Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations Deputy Commissioner for Patent Administration Office of Process Improvement Deputy Commissioner for Patent Quality Office of Patent Training Ombudsman/ Stakeholder Outreach OPQA

Office of Patent Quality Goals: Build more confidence in our patent system by enhancing patent quality; Make the system understandable and usable by all inventors; and Ensure each of our customers is treated fairly and professionally throughout the patent application process. Patent quality pillars: Provide the best work products and services at every stage of the patent process Improve the customer experience with emphasis on excellent customer service Provide excellence in measuring patent quality ensuring appropriate quality metrics target examination issues requiring attention 9

Patent Quality Initiative Quality Summit (March 2015) Federal Register Notice (February 2015) request-comments-enhancing-patent-quality request-comments-enhancing-patent-quality 10

Patent Quality Initiative Internal Initiatives – Review Quality Assurance Specialist Assistance in Technology Center – Interview Specialists/Facilitators External initiatives – Quality Webinar Series – Ombudsman Hours – Patent Quality Roadshows (Fall 2015) 11

Patent Quality Chat 2015 Monthly on the second Tuesday of the month, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. EDT June 9 Clarity of the Record – Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy Drew Hirshfeld July 14- Face-to-Face Examiner Interviews: A Demonstration of USPTO Tools – Director of Technology Center 2400 Timothy Callahan August 11- Measuring Patent Quality – Deputy Commissioner for Patent Quality Valencia Martin Wallace 12

Increased Transparency

Ombudsman Program Mission: To facilitate complaint-handling for pro se applicants and applicant’s representatives whose applications have stalled in the examination process in order to provide a quality customer experience. Functions: Resolve issues to enable applications to effectively move through the patent examination process. Identify areas of best practices and areas of improvements. Educate the public on resources available to them. Track inquiries to ensure timely resolution. Provide feedback to patents management on trends. 14

Ombudsman Program 15 Applicant/Attorney may access the ombudsman via USPTO.gov website -Ombudsman will call within one business day to obtain details Complaint is routed to the appropriate party Ombudsman may or may not address the complaint directly - Will track inquiry for timeliness and accuracy

Interview Practice Interview Practice provides you with free access to video conferencing with USPTO examiners. To join, you need a computer, high speed internet connection, a webcam and a telephone. If you cannot join from home or your office, USPTO offers dedicated meeting rooms at each of its major campuses (Alexandria, Va.; Detroit, Mich.; and Denver, Colo.) 16

Collaboration 17

Site Experience Education (SEE) Showcase Your Real-World Technologies. Provides patent examiners with the opportunity to see technology first-hand at commercial, industrial, and academic institutions Opportunity to Conduct On-Site Training. Helps improve the quality of patent examination by demonstrating the latest technology to examiners Interact Directly with Patent Examiners. Hosts can interact directly with patent examiners and gain a greater understanding of the patent system Learn more about the SEE program and how you can volunteer at: 18

Patent Examiner Technical Training Program (PETTP) Training Program (PETTP) Encourages innovation and strengthens the quality and accessibility of the patent system A voluntary program which gives technology experts the opportunity to provide relevant technical training and expertise to Patent Examiners technical-training-program-pettp-old technical-training-program-pettp-old 19

Participants of PETTP Educational Institutions California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Cornell Duke University Stanford Georgetown University Johns Hopkins The University of Texas at Austin 20 Private Organizations Boeing Canon Facebook Hitachi Hewlett Packard IBM Intel Samsung St. Jude Medical Toyota UPS VISA Yahoo!

Benefits of Collaboration Opportunity to update Examiners on technical developments, state of the art, emerging trends, maturing technologies, and recent innovations Strengthen the quality of Patent Examination by sharing expertise with Examiners 21

Partnering with Stakeholders Additive Manufacturing Partnerships (3D Printing) Biomedical/ Medical device technology Partnership Biotech/Chemical/Pharmaceutical Customer Partnerships Partnering in Patents (Electrical committee of AIPLA and Electrical TCs) Software Partnership Cybersecurity Partnership 22

Partnerships Goals: Helping stakeholders better understand what we do, hopefully leading to better filed and prosecuted applications and better issued patents. Sharing information, including both patent related aspects and technology related aspects. Establishing contacts for technical training programs for examiners and managers. 23

Partnerships Provides an open dialog between USPTO and the stakeholders to share updated information about our recent programs and initiatives with our external stakeholders as well as create a forum where we can have discussions on various topics related to patent examination. 24

Outreach and Education 25

Web-based resources – Videos – Tutorials – webinars Conferences and seminars Smithsonian collaboration Public Education and Outreach Programs 26

A nationwide program providing free legal assistance to under- resourced inventors interested in securing patent protection for their inventions via supporting intellectual property organizations. Inventors or small business seeking assistance must in general meet three basic requirements: – Income below a certain threshold; (regional dependent) – Knowledge of the patent system; and – Possession of an actual invention (not just an idea) Website: Pro Bono 27

Patent Pro Bono Coverage

Law School Clinic Program The Law School Clinic Certification Program (“Program”) permits law school students enrolled in a participating law school’s clinic to: o practice patent and/or trademark law before the USPTO o work under the guidance and supervision of a Faculty Clinic Supervisor o gain while providing their legal services pro bono (free) to Inventors/Applicants.

Law School Clinic Program Benefits Two avenues for patent prosecution in the Program o Regular prosecution o Request to Make Special (in limited applications)

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States with a Clinic in the Program 25 States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico Arizona California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Idaho Illinois Indiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missouri New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio Oregon Puerto Rico Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington West Virginia

International Patent Cooperation

Patents Organization 34 Commissioner for Patents Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy Deputy Commissioner for International Patent Cooperation Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations Deputy Commissioner for Patent Administration Office of Process Improvement Deputy Commissioner for Patent Quality Office of Patent Training Ombudsman/ Stakeholder Outreach OPQA

Improving Global Work Sharing Office of International Patent Cooperation 35

Office of International Patent Cooperation Collaborative Search Program (CSP) Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) Global Dossier Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Some of the Major Initiatives cooperation 36

Patent Application Initiatives

These are the programs available to applicants during each phase of application process. Patent Application Initiative Timeline 38

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Resources Comprehensive Information and Training Material for First Inventor to File: Inventor Resources: IP Awareness Assessment Tool: Scam Prevention: Pro Se & Pro Bono: – – – 1(800)

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Thank you

Q & A