1. The Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences AIPLA S PRING M EETING 2012 James Donald Smith Chief Administrative Patent Judge Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences United States Patent and Trademark Office 5/10/2012

2. Size of Backlog for the Past 10 Quarters

3. Pendency Time for the Past 10 Quarters

4. Reaching the Inflection Point

5. Per Curiam Decisions Allow the Board to issue decisions based on arguments presented by Examiners or Applicants –Shorter decisions; disposed sooner Arguments must sufficiently explain the decision Working with offices of the Under-Secretary and Solicitor to finalize rules

6. Per Curiam Decisions as of 5/8/2012

7. Patent Corps Collaboration Continuing to explore collaboration opportunities Additional Examiner interviews? Examiner review of after-final amendments before coming to the Board?

8. Hiring Selectees from: –USPTO Patent Corps, Office of the General Counsel, and the BPAI –International Trade Commission and Department of Justice –Private Practice –Industry

9. Members of the Board (as of 5/7/2012)

10. List of Judges Pre-Funding Post-Funding

11. USPTO Detroit Satellite Office Opens on July 13, 2012 100 IP-experienced professionals have been hired as patent examiners 8 of the 44 judges confirmed to date by the Secretary of Commerce will reside in Detroit

12. Rules Committee Four new proceedings under America Invents Act – September 2012 Final rules under development Rules committee comprised of Board Judges Work proceeding smoothly Already incorporating public comment, where appropriate