The USPTO in 2014 USPTO Headquarters in Alexandria VA USPTO Offices Detroit Operational since July 2012 Denver Byron G Rogers Federal Building Operational since July 2014 Silicon Valley San Jose City Hall ID: 771887
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The USPTO in 2014 USPTO Headquarters in Alexandria, VA
USPTO Offices Detroit Operational since July 2012 Denver Byron G. Rogers Federal Building Operational since July 2014 Silicon Valley San Jose City Hall Building Operational since October 2015 Dallas Terminal Annex Federal Building Operational since November 2015
Regional Offices 2015 2015 2014 2012
The building is located in downtown Dallas adjacent to Dealey Plaza and Union Station. It is a federal facility, leased through the GSA. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Federal Annex Terminal Building, 207 S. Houston Street Dallas TX 11/25/2015 5
The USPTO occupies a portion of the First Floor and the entire Fifth Floor: The first floor houses public functions: reception, Public Search Facility, Interview Room, Outreach, Training and Conference. The fifth floor will house all of the staff, including 100 Patent Examiners and 20 Administrative Judges in the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. There will be some collaborative spaces and another large Conference. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 11/25/2015 6
Tools and Resources The Office has a number of tools and resources to help applicants throughout the patent examination process and beyond...
Education for the Public Web-based resources Videos TutorialswebinarsConferences and seminarsSmithsonian collaborationIP Awareness Assessment Tool
Pro Bono Free legal assistance to inventors In general, there are three basic requirements:Income below a certain threshold;Knowledge of the patent system; andPossession of an actual invention (not just an idea).
Law School Clinical Program Patent and Trademark assistance by law school studentsStrict guidance of law school faculty Application is advanced out of turn (special)Please visit our website for the current list of schools
Pro Se Assistance The Pro Se Assistance Program offers various services for the public, including:Dedicated personnel for assisting people filing applications without the assistance of an attorney Walk-in assistance for the general public at USPTO Headquarters (by appointment)
Pro Se Assistance (cont’d) A fully equipped public computer workstation for walk-in visitors at the USPTOTargeted support to connect applicants with relevant resources and information Online resources found at uspto.gov1(800)786-9199
Micro-entity SMALL ENTITY REQUIREMENT – APPLICATION FILING LIMIT – no more than four previously filed applications GROSS INCOME LIMIT ON APPLICANTS AND INVENTORS – equal to three times the median household income for the preceding calendar year ($155,817 for 2013)GROSS INCOME LIMIT ON PARTIES WITH AN “OWNERSHIP INTEREST”
Patent Application Initiatives 14 You can get to the program pages by selecting a tile. There are numerous programs that may speed up the examination process http://www.uspto.gov/patent/initiatives/uspto-patent-application-initiatives-timeline
Track One – Prioritized Examination Goal to provide a final disposition within twelve months, on average, of prioritized status being granted. Fee – $4000/$2000/$1000 as of 3/1/2015 Claim Limits – 4 Independent, no more than 30 claims15
First Action Interview Pilot Under this Program, an applicant is entitled to a first action interview, upon request, prior to the first Office action on the merits.Need to file a Petition. 16 http://www.uspto.gov/corda/dashboards/patents/main.dashxml?CTNAVID=1007
Patent Prosecution Highway What is PPH?Enables an applicant who has received a determination of allowable claims from one office to obtain fast track processing of corresponding claims in other offices. A system of work sharing that improves examination efficiency by reducing duplication of effort among patent offices. 17
The Benefits Rapid prosecution Higher grant ratesFast portfolio building Significant and meaningful cost savings for innovators, enabling more IP to be exploited! 18
How Does PPH Work? Applicant receives a positive examination result from a PPH participating office. A national/regional office action indicating allowable claimsPatent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Written Opinion or PCT International Preliminary Report on Patentability Applicant files a PPH request in a corresponding application in another PPH participating office. Once the PPH request is granted, the examination of the application in the second office is expedited. 19
After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 AFCP 2.0 authorizes additional time for examiners to search and/or consider responses after final rejection. http://www.uspto.gov/patent/initiatives/after-final-consideration-pilot-20. 11/25/2015 20
Quick Path Information Disclosure Statement (QPIDS) QPIDS eliminates the requirement for filing an RCE with an IDS filed after payment of the issue fee in order for the IDS to be considered by the examiner. Submitted Via EFS-Web as e-petition.IDS fee $18011/25/2015 21
Ombudsman Program Enhances the USPTO's ability to assist applicants or their representatives with issues that arise during patent application prosecution. Contact an Ombudsman by: http :// www.uspto.gov/patents/ombudsman.jsp 22
IP Awareness Assessment Tool http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/assessment/
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Scam Prevention Scam PreventionNon-USPTO Solicitations Invention Promoters
Contact USPTO Reach us viawww.uspto.gov independentinventor@uspto.gov1(800)786-9199
Thank You! Ram R. Shukla Regional ManagerTexas Regional Office Ram.Shukla@USPTO.gov (469) 295-9050