Darla Ken Pearce
27th January 2012, 11:58
My note: In another thread, I mentioned ~ posting this report from the U.S. Patent Office to demonstrate some progress being made there. Upon later consideration, I read the latest one and decided it was a bit dry for normal public consumption and wondered if it would receive much notice or interest, however, having said I would post it, here it is, and I believe a different tack and attitude adjustment might be more positive especially now that we know about our choosing Timeline #1 versus Timeline #2.
Why I found this site: Being anxious for some form of free energy, solar or otherwise, I decided to keep an eye on the U.S. Patent Office to see if some of the secrets and gridlock was being effectively dealt with and whether we were making any headway or progress in the war against the American people by their own government withholding technology that would greatly benefit us and the world in which we live.
Most of us are aware of the iron grip TPTW and big oil, big corporations have had in maintaining secrecy and suppressing technology that's been available for over sixty years. Especially on Avalon, we are aware of this fact.
Happily, there are a few new things to report but my utility bills remain unacceptable, and my laser-like focus remains in a state of readiness for all the changes I expect to come forth during 2012 by sheer force of will.
My thought was that the patent office was a good place to zero in on ~ no matter how discouraging these reports are to actually read and absorb. (I recommend taking two Excedrin Migraine in advance for good measure but that's just me).
Now if each of you could also contribute your laser-like focus and good intent with mine, we might concentrate on blasting a new pathway from this office to our utility meters to open up new inventive delights we've all earned over the long haul. Let's concentrate on bringing them forth now! Clearing the gridlock!
We are running late on bringing such things as free energy into the public domain but even small changes are wonderful to behold.
Here there is progress in that, at last, we have someone to hold accountable; and a Director no less. Yippee! And indeed, there has been a lot of progress even if it falls short of the mark, thousands of cases are at least beginning to move through the system and this is good news for all of us. The logistics of this effort are mind-boggling in the number of patents being processed.
Let's imagine for one moment a government that actually works on our behalf and for our benefit. (Okay, stop laughing! I'm serious). Yes, I know, it's a pretty funny idea, but imagine it anyway, so we can manifest such a thing in the near future. Please give it an honest attempt. JUST IMAGINE.
So, here is a different perspective than what was available to us prior to Obama's presidency. It's a refreshing one in that there is some communication from this particular office and one that is very important to us. We can interact with it and give feedback. It's a real beginning.
In days not too long ago we had no window whatsoever on activities in this office among hundreds of other government agencies set-up, supposedly for our benefit. I am more than happy to celebrate any new advances over the way things used to be.
So check it out and see what you think but before you start projecting scorn and ridicule, just imagine the best possible outcome from this new effort. The very best result that benefits the 99% ~ we could sure use it about now.
IMAGINE SUCH A THING! NOW LET'S MANIFEST IT!
Now without further ado, Meet Director David Kappos:
http://www.uspto.gov/image/bio/Kappos-200.jpg (http://www.uspto.gov/about/bios/kapposbio.jsp)
Director's Forum: David Kappos' Public Blog
Thursday Jan 26, 2012 ~ No Time for Gridlock at USPTO
In an era where bitter partisan divide can often inhibit action in Washington, one need look no further than the United States patent system to observe how government can work to provide real and meaningful results for Americans.
Since the enactment of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act—bipartisan legislation signed into law by President Obama last September—USPTO in cooperation with our stakeholder community has been launching transformative initiatives to improve the way Americans innovate, and the way the USPTO handles those innovations. And before the ink of the President's signature had even dried, we hit the ground running in rebuilding our intellectual property system from the ground up.
We have already implemented eight provisions of this huge federal legislation—all on time—and we are in the process of getting draft rules out for ten more right now.
We're building out a dynamic IT infrastructure and we've been hiring more examiners to aggressively tackle our patent backlog. We've submitted two studies to Congress, analyzing rights available to manufacturers (prior user rights) and international protections for small businesses. And just yesterday, I joined Chief Judge Randall Rader of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Chief Judge James Smith of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences to welcome 14 new administrative jurists to the Board. These new judges will help the Office aggressively tackle the backlog of appeals waiting at our Board.
More generally, our Board will be instrumental in shaping a new in-house review process for challenging granted patents—a process that is much faster and less expensive than litigation. For both our post-grant review process and our inter partes review process, we’re building state of the art procedures that will balance the interests of third party challengers and patent owners—all within a 12-month time frame.
We have also launched an examination acceleration program (Track I) that is allowing patent applications to be reviewed in 12 months, and offers small businesses a discount on this service. We have already started putting out office actions and even issuing patents under Track I, which is enabling new technologies, new industries and new markets to blossom quicker than ever before. And we’ve pushed our unexamined patent application backlog down to about 660,000.
Our Trademarks team continues to perform at world-best level, handling record numbers of new applications last year, launching a 21st century total quality program that would keep pace with any private sector equivalent, and serving as voice and conduit for US brand-owners small and large, west and east, south and north. This is action.
These are results. The growing, dedicated, professional staff of the USPTO is unquestionably productive and is meeting the challenges before us. Yes, there is much left to do and many challenges ahead. But I simply can’t stress enough that the USPTO is on the move. Even in an era of partisan rifts, government can and is working to advance American industry and American ingenuity.''
Friday Jan 20, 2012 ~ Remarkable Performance Results in Trademarks
Guest blog by Commissioner for Trademarks Debbie Cohn
There’s no question that electronic filing has changed the nature of trademarks, and a look at our performance dashboard for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012 really shows some remarkable results.
Trademark pendency is at historically low levels and much of the reason for this is because some 75% of all trademark applications are filed and processed electronically.
We’re particularly proud to report that disposal pendency – the time from when an application is filed until a trademark is registered or abandoned – is the lowest it’s ever been at 10.2 months. In fact, it’s been under 11 months for the past seven quarters in a row.
Likewise, pendency for applications involved in inter partes proceedings or appeals have also been reduced to an all-time low of 12.1 months. All of this while the number of application filings have increased 7.8% over the same period last year. First action pendency, which measures the time it takes for a new application to receive an initial response from our office was at 3.2 months at the end of the first quarter.
Aside from speed, trademark quality is another critical measure we consistently seek to improve. When you study the dashboard, you’ll see our quality results are mixed. Our first and final action quality are slightly less than target, although a more rigorous measure that defines the “excellence” of a first office action is above target. This new measure was introduced last year to set a higher standard in evaluating an examiner’s writing, evidence, and search strategy and the results exceed our target by 11 percent.
Our evaluation of quality is an ongoing process, with final results measured at the end of the fiscal year. Results are used for improving and developing policy and training guides and manuals to reinforce and ensure the quality of the trademark register.
We welcome any feedback you have on how we can improve the presentation or information presented. We have a dedicated mailbox for your comments and we look forward to hearing from you.
Friday Jan 13, 2012
The Patent Prosecution Highway—Scaling a Sensible Approach to Worksharing
In recent years, the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) has proven to be one of the most significant worksharing initiatives for the USPTO, and a successful vehicle enabling faster and less expensive multi-country patent prosecution for the IP community.
It began as a very small pilot project in 2006 between the USPTO and the Japan Patent Office and grew modestly over the next three years, as international filers became more comfortable with this new process for quickly obtaining patent rights across the globe. As the project has grown, getting the word out about the substantial benefits of PPH has been one of our highest priorities.
As of the end of 2011, more than 9,000 applications at the USPTO have been processed within the PPH program. This represents a 100%+ increase in usage, two years running. Users benefit not only by fast portfolio-building but also by enjoying the collective savings of millions of dollars in the process.
A recent study by our user community demonstrated that—in a single application—anywhere from $2,000 to $13,000 in reduced prosecution costs can be realized through PPH, depending on the complexity of the invention. For international filers of all sizes, that level of savings adds up quickly.
And even while the PPH has grown tremendously in usage, we’ve continued the mission, working with our partner offices—which now total 21—to further improve the program. One of the first major steps taken was expansion of the PPH into the PCT system.
This has opened up the advantages of PPH to an entire sector of international filers, and also paved the way for making the PCT system the worksharing model it was originally intended to be.
Recently, we reached agreement with several other large offices to streamline the PPH entry process and open the system to yet many more filers, mainly in Europe.
In July we began testing the elimination of the office-of-first-filing to office-of-second-filing directional requirement of the PPH model. Under this more flexible on-ramp approach, PPH may be entered on the basis of positive outcomes from an office which first indicates allowable subject matter, whether or not that office happened to be the office of first filing.
This improvement is known as the “Mottainai” PPH model. Mottainai is a Japanese term meaning that something useful should not be left unused. For our European constituents, this means that work done by the EPO (as an office of second filing) will be available as a basis for PPH entry both here and in Japan.
At the end of January, we will begin what we call PPH 2.0, which reduces the paperwork requirements by cutting documentation, allowing for use of machine translations for some purposes, and allowing for self-certification of claims correspondence. PPH2.0 will save participants even more money, while further reducing the processing time here at USPTO. Details on the Mottainai and PPH 2.0 pilots can be found on our website.
Finally, we are working with all PPH offices to realize a common set of fundamental requirements—“one PPH”—intended to vastly simplify the process for all users by creating a single, universal set of rules for the program globally.
The Patent Prosecution Highway is a growing success story—but only for those who are using it. Your competitors are taking advantage of the major cost savings and many other pluses of the program. So much so, that we are expecting another doubling of the program for 2012.
If you aren’t yet using PPH, we invite you to take a fresh look at how it can be a positive contributor in both speed and cost to your international patent protection strategy.
Friday Jan 06, 2012 ~ Full Speed Ahead for 2012
Happy New Year and welcome back from what I hope was a restful holiday break!
As I wrote in my last blog entry, 2011 was a year of historic achievements for our Agency, none of which would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the entire USPTO team. Once again, and simply: THANK YOU.
We have strong momentum heading into 2012, and I want to capitalize on that momentum to the fullest. In that spirit I’d like to take a few moments to discuss what lies ahead and how we can make this another great year for the American inventor, the American economy and the American intellectual property community.
The mission of the USPTO is clearly stated in our Strategic Plan: fostering innovation, competitiveness and economic growth, domestically and abroad, by delivering high quality and timely examination of patent and trademark applications, guiding domestic and international intellectual property policy, and delivering intellectual property information and education worldwide, with a highly skilled, diverse workforce.
It is important to remind ourselves of these words at the beginning of a new year, as they orient our efforts toward a common purpose.
Consider the superb progress we are making to reduce our backlog of unexamined patent applications, with an emphasis on resolving the oldest cases as expeditiously as possible. While reducing the backlog is an important goal in itself, it is absolutely critical to our Agency’s mission of fostering innovation, competitiveness and economic growth. Our daily work here is vital to the nation’s economic recovery.
Similarly, in our Trademarks operation, we will keep up the stellar momentum in excellent office actions, responding to increased filings, and leading the way on global enforcement issues such as in areas of counterfeiting and piracy, to ensure that American businesses can protect their brands and reap the full rewards of their initiative and creativity.
The continuing implementation of the America Invents Act (AIA) makes it imperative that our employees be prepared with the training, knowledge, and hands-on experience necessary for us to crisply implement this landmark legislation.
In our legal department, we'll be advocating for strong and balanced IP legal interpretations and advancing the IP laws generally, through close cooperation between the Solicitor's Office and the Trademarks and Patents teams as applicable, and with proactive policy support from our External Affairs team.
Our productive engagements with partner agencies overseas will continue as we collaborate on key projects like our Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) initiative with the European Patent Office, the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with a growing host of countries as diverse as Japan, Australia, China, and Russia.
We’re also looking forward to working with the other members of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to advance an international treaty protecting the rights of audio/visual performers, at what will be the first IP diplomatic conference in a decade.
Long gone are the days when patent and trademark offices worked in isolation from one another. Now more than ever, we must think and act as concerned citizens of a global IP community.
That’s also why we will continue to advance our global patent law harmonization agenda that works towards greater efficiency and quality in patenting across multiple jurisdictions—and does so in a way that incorporates the views, processes, and perspectives of both developing and developed nations.
Finally, we will continue to deploy new, state-of-the-art technologies at the USPTO to improve our information technology systems and support infrastructure which is instrumental to optimizing the quality of our trademark and patent examination work, and the efficiency with which our user communities conduct business with the Office.
We have made a lot of progress with an extremely talented team of dedicated professionals. With the increased confidence that comes from success, I have no doubt we will go even farther in 2012.
We get big things done around here. If you thought 2011 was a great year for team USPTO, you ain’t seen nothing yet!
Tuesday Jan 03, 2012 ~ USPTO Track I: The Agency’s Self-Report on Implementation Performance Through Year-End 2011
Guest blog by USPTO Commissioner for Patents Peggy Focarino
Following passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act in September 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began accepting requests for prioritized examination of patent applications through the Track I Prioritized Patent Examination Program.
Track I allows inventors and businesses, for a fee, to have their patents processed to completion in 12 months. No examination support documents or other admissions are required.
The required petition is very simple, and to date, 1,694 Track I petitions have been submitted to the USPTO. On average it is taking 40.8 days to move Track I cases from receipt of petition to completion of pre-examination processing (which includes deciding on the petition).
The longest it has taken is 95 days. While on average only 10 of those 40.8 days are consumed in handling the Track I petitions, and while 40.8 days in pre-exam for Track I compares favorably with our normal pre-exam processing time of 69.6 days, we are not satisfied and are working to cut this time further.
Initial substantive results for Track I have been quite positive. Specifically, 1,218 of the 1,231 requests of the prioritized examination (that have been decided) were granted. This represents a 98.9% approval rate. Furthermore, 648 have already received a first office action, and another 34 will be mailed within days.
On average we are getting the first action out in Track I cases just 30.7 days after approval of the petition – for a total elapsed period to first action of 66.4 days after filing of the request-petition. (The reason 66.4 does not correspond precisely to 40.8 plus 30.7 is because 40.8 is the average time from filing to granting the request for all applications, including those which have not yet received a first action.) And the longest it has taken us to get a first action out is 70 days from grant of the petition. So we are easily beating our target to get a first action out within an average of three months from the time the petition is granted. In fact, we have beaten it in every case so far.
More importantly, 23 allowances have already been mailed on Track I applications, the fastest of which was mailed just 37 days after the application was filed. And seven more allowances are currently in our pipeline, scheduled to be mailed within days. Of the Track I cases allowed so far, the average time to allowance is 39.2 days from petition approval. As for rejections, so far there have been three final rejections issued on Track I applications. The average time to final rejection has been 34.3 days, and the longest time to final was 50 days, both measured from approval of the Track I petition. It is worth noting that the first Track I application is due to issue on Jan. 10, 2012. This application was filed Sept. 30, 2011.
For those applicants or practitioners concerned about whether Track I applications will be treated differently from others in terms of grant/denial rate, our examiners are being given exactly the same training, credits and incentives to accurately examine Track I cases as for all other cases, and no training, credits or incentives are being given to bias examiner decisions in any way. And as for the data, given the statistics provided above, so far there is no basis to believe there is any difference in result for Track I versus non-Track I processing, other than the significantly faster responsiveness.
So we feel it is fair to say that while we are still in the early days of examining Track I applications, and are continuously working to address bottlenecks where they exist, we are proceeding apace with super-fast processing through the first three months of the program.
For more information about Track I, or if there is any other information you would like the USPTO to report on Track I, please contact Eugenia A. Jones in the USPTO Office of Patent Legal Administration at (571) 272-7727.
Wednesday Dec 21, 2011 ~ 2011 Was Quite a Year
As December draws to a close and we reflect on all that we’ve accomplished, it’s difficult to imagine a more historic year for the United States Patent and Trademark Office than 2011. The dedication and hard work of our talented public servants has enabled the Agency to make significant strides in the quality, efficiency, and certainty of patents and trademarks granted to technological enterprises. And our collaboration with the small business community has allowed us to level the competitive playing field by offering new tools and resources for independent inventors to acquire intellectual property rights with more ease.
So with the holiday season upon us, I want to take a moment to recount what our extended USPTO family has helped accomplish for American inventors and American innovation.
For the first time in several years, the Patent and Trademark Office was able to reduce the backlog of unexamined patent applications to below 665,000, a remarkable achievement considering the 5 percent increase in patent applications filings in FY2011. Through improved practices and processes, we are on track to push the backlog down even further, helping deliver new technologies to the marketplace faster, which in turn spurs job creation and drives economic growth for our country.
Moreover, under our Green Technology Pilot Program, the USPTO recently issued the program’s 500th patent for a wind turbine rotor blade—yet another important step forward in advancing the Administration’s goal of doubling our nation’s renewable energy capacity. Through our commitment to green technologies, environmental quality and renewable energy, we are able to spur innovation and help create new jobs that provide our world with sustainable alternatives to harmful energy practices.
We’ve even harnessed the power of the Internet and the global technology community to strengthen the patent examination process by expanding our Peer-to-Patent (P2P) pilot program. This initiative improves the quality of the American IP process by allowing outside subject matter experts to contribute prior art—expanding the scope of our examination process. In an era of Wikipedia and crowd-sourcing, not only does this model allow the USPTO to stand ahead of the patenting curve by including inventive ways to improve patent quality, but it also increases our overall transparency—a goal vital to the Administration’s Open Government initiative.
It’s also why we’re proud of tools like our Dashboard and our newly revamped website. Such features give visitors real access to tools for navigating the IP system, and real insight into our performance, whether it’s the state of our backlog, inventory positions, or pendency. Ultimately, this doesn’t just show the public where we stand, it also motivates us to take an honest look at how differing processes are faring in terms of efficacy and efficiency—and improve upon them. Measures like the Dashboard and P2P help make our government more transparent and accountable to the American people.
And in Trademarks, for the fifth consecutive year, our outstanding Trademark Organization exceeded its pendency targets for first action and final disposition. Notably, the new “Excellent Office Action” quality measure—which indicates comprehensive quality of the First Office Action search strategy, evidence, writing and decision making—came in at 23.6 percent, handily exceeding the goal of 15 percent. In addition, Trademarks continued to meet and exceed its pendency goals and achieved an increase in the use of electronic filing and processing.
I am also very proud of the teamwork behind the highly successful 2011 National Trademark Expo, which attracted more than 15,000 people—our largest attendance to date—and featured more than 27 exhibitors, a 50 percent increase from previous years. Events like this help educate the public about the importance of IP and its ubiquitous role in our society.
In addition to these accomplishments, this year also marked the historic passage of the America Invents Act. This sweeping legislation, signed into law by President Obama in September, equips the USPTO with the resources necessary to operate an efficient IP system that processes patent applications and issues high-quality patents quickly. By transitioning to a simpler, more objective, and more inventor-friendly system of issuing patents, the new law helps ensure that independent inventors and small entities have greater clarity and certainty over their property rights and will be able to navigate the patent system on a more equitable footing with large enterprises.
The AIA also allows the USPTO to implement a fast-track examination option under which the patent examination process will be completed within 12 months. Getting a key patent can be critical to an entrepreneur hoping to raise capital and grow their business, with 76 percent of startups in the US reporting that venture capital investors consider patents when they make funding decisions.
So with over 2,000 applications already submitted under the new acceleration program, many hundreds of office actions mailed and over 20 notices of allowance, businesses of all sizes are already leveraging the new tool to develop, grow and market their products and services with unprecedented swiftness, under the AIA.
For the first time, the USPTO has the ability to recover the actual costs of the services it provides, and a reserve fund, solely for the Agency’s use, to access all of those fees. These provisions have allowed us to hire and train new personnel, educate examiners and the public about changes to the USPTO review process, aggressively modernize our IT infrastructure, expedite application processing and issue higher-quality patents—all without adding a dime to the national deficit.
The bi-partisan passage of the Leahy-Smith American Invents Act and its tangible impact on the way we do business shows that government can work, fostering innovation, investment and job creation for the benefit of all.
It has also led to strengthened work-sharing programs with other patent agencies overseas through the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), which allows each office to benefit from work previously done by others, reducing examination workload and improving patent quality.
The expedited examination in each office also allows applicants to obtain corresponding patents faster and more efficiently in each country.
In the last few weeks alone we’ve announced a number of PPH programs with our international partners, including a landmark work-sharing agreement with China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) under the Paris Convention (“Paris Route”) and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
The agreement comes at a very opportune time as China and the United States together make up a significant global market share for patent stakeholders.
For a more exhaustive look at these and other accomplishments, I encourage you to take the time to read our Performance and Accountability Report for 2011.
While all of these efforts point to our country’s commitment to innovation, perhaps no one event of the year tells that story better than the USPTO’s issuance of Patent No. 8,000,000—a sight restoration tool that gives the blind greater independence in their daily lives. It took 75 years to get from patent No. 1 to patent 1 million, yet just over five years to go from patent 7 million to 8 million. So beyond aiding the blind, this remarkable milestone is a testament to the enduring American spirit of innovation—a spirit that continues to unleash new breakthroughs, new markets and new economic opportunities.
That’s why we remain committed to building the world’s strongest Patent and Trademark Office, and that’s why we’re excited about some of the new challenges we face in the year ahead. For the first time in the history of the Agency, the USPTO will be opening a satellite office outside of the nation’s capital. The Elijah J. McCoy U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Detroit will provide a significant boost to that city’s innovation economy with more than 100 technologically-focused, secure jobs. And more satellite offices will soon follow, in other cities throughout the nation.
The goals of this ambitious expansion are to improve the hiring, recruitment and retention of top-quality Patent Examiners, to recruit directly in other geographic areas in the U.S. where engineering talent exists, and to increase our interaction with the IP community.
While continuing to improve the diversity and talent of our workforce, we are also drafting a “Green Paper” on copyright policy in the digital era, in order to ensure that the 21st century best balances strong IP protections with the free flow of information over the Internet. Additionally, in 2012 we’ll draft a broader-based “National IP Strategy” to outline this Administration’s key IP priorities, our plan to improve patent protection for small businesses at home, and our efforts to increase our engagement with China on issues of IP enforcement.
Finally, after soliciting public comment on the America Invents Act and seeking input from a variety of stakeholders, we will complete the rulemaking to establish a new post-grant review process that is faster and significantly cheaper than costly and prolonged litigation—resolving questions about patent rights more efficiently.
Unlike the re-examination process available today, the new post-grant review will allow issues of “subject matter” to be looked at and revamp the existing inter partes review system to adjudicate claims within 12 months; earlier resolution of disputes will weed out poor-quality patents sooner and add greater certainty to the US patent system.
For all that we’ve accomplished and the great things yet to come, the credit is due to the talent, dedication, and innovative spirit of USPTO employees who are working hard every day to produce positive results for the American people and our economy. I couldn’t be more proud to be part of such an outstanding team of professionals, and I truly look forward to another historic year with the world’s first and only 21st Century Patent and Trademark Office.
Happy Holidays!
Monday Dec 19, 2011 ~ A Farewell Message
Guest blog by USPTO Commissioner for Patents Bob Stoll
Earlier this month, with a mixture of excitement and sadness, I submitted my letter of resignation as Commissioner for Patents, effective Dec. 31. I can say without reservation that it was an honor to serve as Commissioner for the past two years and at the USPTO for the bulk of my career.
During my tenure leading the Patents organization we achieved some lofty goals, including the reduction of our patent backlog to less than 670,000, in spite of a five percent increase in filings, and we are on a trajectory to eliminate unacceptable backlogs in the future.
But the achievement that cheers me the most is the major culture shift we nurtured in the USPTO toward a more collaborative environment—supervisors mentoring examiners, examiners helping applicants, and the technical support folks helping move applications through the system.
Through training, educating, establishing joint work efforts, and undertaking listening campaigns we have created a truly 21st-century agency that is lauded for its service and highly praised by applicants, bloggers, unions and the public at large.
The USPTO is now regarded as a top employer, listed 19th in the annual ranking of Best Places to Work in the Federal Government.
The bi-partisan passage of the America Invents Act was a seminal event in patent history, the culmination of many years of discussion within the diverse patent community.
Together we created a patent system that provides inventors with more certainty that they will reap the benefits of their labors while at the same time providing more information and products to the citizens of the world. This new patent framework will aid in the creation of new jobs and the recovery of our economy, and I am very proud to have been a part of its enactment and implementation.
I want to acknowledge the contributions of my mentor, boss and friend, Director Kappos, to my success as Commissioner for Patents.
His leadership and vision are unparalleled in government service. He encourages thoughtful risk-taking and creative solutions to cure the ills of the agency. I will truly miss the almost hourly discussions, including weekends and holidays, about ways to improve the USPTO.
As I move on to other opportunities, I will also miss the rest of my friends at the USPTO and Department of Commerce, but I will still be a strong proponent of the great work being done here and a vocal participant in the patent dialogue as we continue to improve this system for the benefit of all.
Good luck to you all, and thank you for your great work and friendship.
==================
Okay, baby steps. Well at least now you know why things are so bogged down. Actually in the last year I've been watching, much progress has been made whereas prior to that time the whole process was slower than molasses running uphill. With new governance and directives, all things are possible and things are moving much faster now.
We can change anything if we put our minds to it. All this red tape can vanish in a heart beat and a stream line process can find it's way into the light with the proper motives instead of utter gridlock and 3D BS. As MLK once said, "We shall overcome" and open those secret energy vaults soon. Keep the faith and...
JUST IMAGINE ZERO-POINT ENERGY IN YOUR HOME!
I found this for you here: http://www.uspto.gov/blog/director/
Why I found this site: Being anxious for some form of free energy, solar or otherwise, I decided to keep an eye on the U.S. Patent Office to see if some of the secrets and gridlock was being effectively dealt with and whether we were making any headway or progress in the war against the American people by their own government withholding technology that would greatly benefit us and the world in which we live.
Most of us are aware of the iron grip TPTW and big oil, big corporations have had in maintaining secrecy and suppressing technology that's been available for over sixty years. Especially on Avalon, we are aware of this fact.
Happily, there are a few new things to report but my utility bills remain unacceptable, and my laser-like focus remains in a state of readiness for all the changes I expect to come forth during 2012 by sheer force of will.
My thought was that the patent office was a good place to zero in on ~ no matter how discouraging these reports are to actually read and absorb. (I recommend taking two Excedrin Migraine in advance for good measure but that's just me).
Now if each of you could also contribute your laser-like focus and good intent with mine, we might concentrate on blasting a new pathway from this office to our utility meters to open up new inventive delights we've all earned over the long haul. Let's concentrate on bringing them forth now! Clearing the gridlock!
We are running late on bringing such things as free energy into the public domain but even small changes are wonderful to behold.
Here there is progress in that, at last, we have someone to hold accountable; and a Director no less. Yippee! And indeed, there has been a lot of progress even if it falls short of the mark, thousands of cases are at least beginning to move through the system and this is good news for all of us. The logistics of this effort are mind-boggling in the number of patents being processed.
Let's imagine for one moment a government that actually works on our behalf and for our benefit. (Okay, stop laughing! I'm serious). Yes, I know, it's a pretty funny idea, but imagine it anyway, so we can manifest such a thing in the near future. Please give it an honest attempt. JUST IMAGINE.
So, here is a different perspective than what was available to us prior to Obama's presidency. It's a refreshing one in that there is some communication from this particular office and one that is very important to us. We can interact with it and give feedback. It's a real beginning.
In days not too long ago we had no window whatsoever on activities in this office among hundreds of other government agencies set-up, supposedly for our benefit. I am more than happy to celebrate any new advances over the way things used to be.
So check it out and see what you think but before you start projecting scorn and ridicule, just imagine the best possible outcome from this new effort. The very best result that benefits the 99% ~ we could sure use it about now.
IMAGINE SUCH A THING! NOW LET'S MANIFEST IT!
Now without further ado, Meet Director David Kappos:
http://www.uspto.gov/image/bio/Kappos-200.jpg (http://www.uspto.gov/about/bios/kapposbio.jsp)
Director's Forum: David Kappos' Public Blog
Thursday Jan 26, 2012 ~ No Time for Gridlock at USPTO
In an era where bitter partisan divide can often inhibit action in Washington, one need look no further than the United States patent system to observe how government can work to provide real and meaningful results for Americans.
Since the enactment of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act—bipartisan legislation signed into law by President Obama last September—USPTO in cooperation with our stakeholder community has been launching transformative initiatives to improve the way Americans innovate, and the way the USPTO handles those innovations. And before the ink of the President's signature had even dried, we hit the ground running in rebuilding our intellectual property system from the ground up.
We have already implemented eight provisions of this huge federal legislation—all on time—and we are in the process of getting draft rules out for ten more right now.
We're building out a dynamic IT infrastructure and we've been hiring more examiners to aggressively tackle our patent backlog. We've submitted two studies to Congress, analyzing rights available to manufacturers (prior user rights) and international protections for small businesses. And just yesterday, I joined Chief Judge Randall Rader of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Chief Judge James Smith of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences to welcome 14 new administrative jurists to the Board. These new judges will help the Office aggressively tackle the backlog of appeals waiting at our Board.
More generally, our Board will be instrumental in shaping a new in-house review process for challenging granted patents—a process that is much faster and less expensive than litigation. For both our post-grant review process and our inter partes review process, we’re building state of the art procedures that will balance the interests of third party challengers and patent owners—all within a 12-month time frame.
We have also launched an examination acceleration program (Track I) that is allowing patent applications to be reviewed in 12 months, and offers small businesses a discount on this service. We have already started putting out office actions and even issuing patents under Track I, which is enabling new technologies, new industries and new markets to blossom quicker than ever before. And we’ve pushed our unexamined patent application backlog down to about 660,000.
Our Trademarks team continues to perform at world-best level, handling record numbers of new applications last year, launching a 21st century total quality program that would keep pace with any private sector equivalent, and serving as voice and conduit for US brand-owners small and large, west and east, south and north. This is action.
These are results. The growing, dedicated, professional staff of the USPTO is unquestionably productive and is meeting the challenges before us. Yes, there is much left to do and many challenges ahead. But I simply can’t stress enough that the USPTO is on the move. Even in an era of partisan rifts, government can and is working to advance American industry and American ingenuity.''
Friday Jan 20, 2012 ~ Remarkable Performance Results in Trademarks
Guest blog by Commissioner for Trademarks Debbie Cohn
There’s no question that electronic filing has changed the nature of trademarks, and a look at our performance dashboard for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012 really shows some remarkable results.
Trademark pendency is at historically low levels and much of the reason for this is because some 75% of all trademark applications are filed and processed electronically.
We’re particularly proud to report that disposal pendency – the time from when an application is filed until a trademark is registered or abandoned – is the lowest it’s ever been at 10.2 months. In fact, it’s been under 11 months for the past seven quarters in a row.
Likewise, pendency for applications involved in inter partes proceedings or appeals have also been reduced to an all-time low of 12.1 months. All of this while the number of application filings have increased 7.8% over the same period last year. First action pendency, which measures the time it takes for a new application to receive an initial response from our office was at 3.2 months at the end of the first quarter.
Aside from speed, trademark quality is another critical measure we consistently seek to improve. When you study the dashboard, you’ll see our quality results are mixed. Our first and final action quality are slightly less than target, although a more rigorous measure that defines the “excellence” of a first office action is above target. This new measure was introduced last year to set a higher standard in evaluating an examiner’s writing, evidence, and search strategy and the results exceed our target by 11 percent.
Our evaluation of quality is an ongoing process, with final results measured at the end of the fiscal year. Results are used for improving and developing policy and training guides and manuals to reinforce and ensure the quality of the trademark register.
We welcome any feedback you have on how we can improve the presentation or information presented. We have a dedicated mailbox for your comments and we look forward to hearing from you.
Friday Jan 13, 2012
The Patent Prosecution Highway—Scaling a Sensible Approach to Worksharing
In recent years, the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) has proven to be one of the most significant worksharing initiatives for the USPTO, and a successful vehicle enabling faster and less expensive multi-country patent prosecution for the IP community.
It began as a very small pilot project in 2006 between the USPTO and the Japan Patent Office and grew modestly over the next three years, as international filers became more comfortable with this new process for quickly obtaining patent rights across the globe. As the project has grown, getting the word out about the substantial benefits of PPH has been one of our highest priorities.
As of the end of 2011, more than 9,000 applications at the USPTO have been processed within the PPH program. This represents a 100%+ increase in usage, two years running. Users benefit not only by fast portfolio-building but also by enjoying the collective savings of millions of dollars in the process.
A recent study by our user community demonstrated that—in a single application—anywhere from $2,000 to $13,000 in reduced prosecution costs can be realized through PPH, depending on the complexity of the invention. For international filers of all sizes, that level of savings adds up quickly.
And even while the PPH has grown tremendously in usage, we’ve continued the mission, working with our partner offices—which now total 21—to further improve the program. One of the first major steps taken was expansion of the PPH into the PCT system.
This has opened up the advantages of PPH to an entire sector of international filers, and also paved the way for making the PCT system the worksharing model it was originally intended to be.
Recently, we reached agreement with several other large offices to streamline the PPH entry process and open the system to yet many more filers, mainly in Europe.
In July we began testing the elimination of the office-of-first-filing to office-of-second-filing directional requirement of the PPH model. Under this more flexible on-ramp approach, PPH may be entered on the basis of positive outcomes from an office which first indicates allowable subject matter, whether or not that office happened to be the office of first filing.
This improvement is known as the “Mottainai” PPH model. Mottainai is a Japanese term meaning that something useful should not be left unused. For our European constituents, this means that work done by the EPO (as an office of second filing) will be available as a basis for PPH entry both here and in Japan.
At the end of January, we will begin what we call PPH 2.0, which reduces the paperwork requirements by cutting documentation, allowing for use of machine translations for some purposes, and allowing for self-certification of claims correspondence. PPH2.0 will save participants even more money, while further reducing the processing time here at USPTO. Details on the Mottainai and PPH 2.0 pilots can be found on our website.
Finally, we are working with all PPH offices to realize a common set of fundamental requirements—“one PPH”—intended to vastly simplify the process for all users by creating a single, universal set of rules for the program globally.
The Patent Prosecution Highway is a growing success story—but only for those who are using it. Your competitors are taking advantage of the major cost savings and many other pluses of the program. So much so, that we are expecting another doubling of the program for 2012.
If you aren’t yet using PPH, we invite you to take a fresh look at how it can be a positive contributor in both speed and cost to your international patent protection strategy.
Friday Jan 06, 2012 ~ Full Speed Ahead for 2012
Happy New Year and welcome back from what I hope was a restful holiday break!
As I wrote in my last blog entry, 2011 was a year of historic achievements for our Agency, none of which would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the entire USPTO team. Once again, and simply: THANK YOU.
We have strong momentum heading into 2012, and I want to capitalize on that momentum to the fullest. In that spirit I’d like to take a few moments to discuss what lies ahead and how we can make this another great year for the American inventor, the American economy and the American intellectual property community.
The mission of the USPTO is clearly stated in our Strategic Plan: fostering innovation, competitiveness and economic growth, domestically and abroad, by delivering high quality and timely examination of patent and trademark applications, guiding domestic and international intellectual property policy, and delivering intellectual property information and education worldwide, with a highly skilled, diverse workforce.
It is important to remind ourselves of these words at the beginning of a new year, as they orient our efforts toward a common purpose.
Consider the superb progress we are making to reduce our backlog of unexamined patent applications, with an emphasis on resolving the oldest cases as expeditiously as possible. While reducing the backlog is an important goal in itself, it is absolutely critical to our Agency’s mission of fostering innovation, competitiveness and economic growth. Our daily work here is vital to the nation’s economic recovery.
Similarly, in our Trademarks operation, we will keep up the stellar momentum in excellent office actions, responding to increased filings, and leading the way on global enforcement issues such as in areas of counterfeiting and piracy, to ensure that American businesses can protect their brands and reap the full rewards of their initiative and creativity.
The continuing implementation of the America Invents Act (AIA) makes it imperative that our employees be prepared with the training, knowledge, and hands-on experience necessary for us to crisply implement this landmark legislation.
In our legal department, we'll be advocating for strong and balanced IP legal interpretations and advancing the IP laws generally, through close cooperation between the Solicitor's Office and the Trademarks and Patents teams as applicable, and with proactive policy support from our External Affairs team.
Our productive engagements with partner agencies overseas will continue as we collaborate on key projects like our Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) initiative with the European Patent Office, the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with a growing host of countries as diverse as Japan, Australia, China, and Russia.
We’re also looking forward to working with the other members of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to advance an international treaty protecting the rights of audio/visual performers, at what will be the first IP diplomatic conference in a decade.
Long gone are the days when patent and trademark offices worked in isolation from one another. Now more than ever, we must think and act as concerned citizens of a global IP community.
That’s also why we will continue to advance our global patent law harmonization agenda that works towards greater efficiency and quality in patenting across multiple jurisdictions—and does so in a way that incorporates the views, processes, and perspectives of both developing and developed nations.
Finally, we will continue to deploy new, state-of-the-art technologies at the USPTO to improve our information technology systems and support infrastructure which is instrumental to optimizing the quality of our trademark and patent examination work, and the efficiency with which our user communities conduct business with the Office.
We have made a lot of progress with an extremely talented team of dedicated professionals. With the increased confidence that comes from success, I have no doubt we will go even farther in 2012.
We get big things done around here. If you thought 2011 was a great year for team USPTO, you ain’t seen nothing yet!
Tuesday Jan 03, 2012 ~ USPTO Track I: The Agency’s Self-Report on Implementation Performance Through Year-End 2011
Guest blog by USPTO Commissioner for Patents Peggy Focarino
Following passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act in September 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began accepting requests for prioritized examination of patent applications through the Track I Prioritized Patent Examination Program.
Track I allows inventors and businesses, for a fee, to have their patents processed to completion in 12 months. No examination support documents or other admissions are required.
The required petition is very simple, and to date, 1,694 Track I petitions have been submitted to the USPTO. On average it is taking 40.8 days to move Track I cases from receipt of petition to completion of pre-examination processing (which includes deciding on the petition).
The longest it has taken is 95 days. While on average only 10 of those 40.8 days are consumed in handling the Track I petitions, and while 40.8 days in pre-exam for Track I compares favorably with our normal pre-exam processing time of 69.6 days, we are not satisfied and are working to cut this time further.
Initial substantive results for Track I have been quite positive. Specifically, 1,218 of the 1,231 requests of the prioritized examination (that have been decided) were granted. This represents a 98.9% approval rate. Furthermore, 648 have already received a first office action, and another 34 will be mailed within days.
On average we are getting the first action out in Track I cases just 30.7 days after approval of the petition – for a total elapsed period to first action of 66.4 days after filing of the request-petition. (The reason 66.4 does not correspond precisely to 40.8 plus 30.7 is because 40.8 is the average time from filing to granting the request for all applications, including those which have not yet received a first action.) And the longest it has taken us to get a first action out is 70 days from grant of the petition. So we are easily beating our target to get a first action out within an average of three months from the time the petition is granted. In fact, we have beaten it in every case so far.
More importantly, 23 allowances have already been mailed on Track I applications, the fastest of which was mailed just 37 days after the application was filed. And seven more allowances are currently in our pipeline, scheduled to be mailed within days. Of the Track I cases allowed so far, the average time to allowance is 39.2 days from petition approval. As for rejections, so far there have been three final rejections issued on Track I applications. The average time to final rejection has been 34.3 days, and the longest time to final was 50 days, both measured from approval of the Track I petition. It is worth noting that the first Track I application is due to issue on Jan. 10, 2012. This application was filed Sept. 30, 2011.
For those applicants or practitioners concerned about whether Track I applications will be treated differently from others in terms of grant/denial rate, our examiners are being given exactly the same training, credits and incentives to accurately examine Track I cases as for all other cases, and no training, credits or incentives are being given to bias examiner decisions in any way. And as for the data, given the statistics provided above, so far there is no basis to believe there is any difference in result for Track I versus non-Track I processing, other than the significantly faster responsiveness.
So we feel it is fair to say that while we are still in the early days of examining Track I applications, and are continuously working to address bottlenecks where they exist, we are proceeding apace with super-fast processing through the first three months of the program.
For more information about Track I, or if there is any other information you would like the USPTO to report on Track I, please contact Eugenia A. Jones in the USPTO Office of Patent Legal Administration at (571) 272-7727.
Wednesday Dec 21, 2011 ~ 2011 Was Quite a Year
As December draws to a close and we reflect on all that we’ve accomplished, it’s difficult to imagine a more historic year for the United States Patent and Trademark Office than 2011. The dedication and hard work of our talented public servants has enabled the Agency to make significant strides in the quality, efficiency, and certainty of patents and trademarks granted to technological enterprises. And our collaboration with the small business community has allowed us to level the competitive playing field by offering new tools and resources for independent inventors to acquire intellectual property rights with more ease.
So with the holiday season upon us, I want to take a moment to recount what our extended USPTO family has helped accomplish for American inventors and American innovation.
For the first time in several years, the Patent and Trademark Office was able to reduce the backlog of unexamined patent applications to below 665,000, a remarkable achievement considering the 5 percent increase in patent applications filings in FY2011. Through improved practices and processes, we are on track to push the backlog down even further, helping deliver new technologies to the marketplace faster, which in turn spurs job creation and drives economic growth for our country.
Moreover, under our Green Technology Pilot Program, the USPTO recently issued the program’s 500th patent for a wind turbine rotor blade—yet another important step forward in advancing the Administration’s goal of doubling our nation’s renewable energy capacity. Through our commitment to green technologies, environmental quality and renewable energy, we are able to spur innovation and help create new jobs that provide our world with sustainable alternatives to harmful energy practices.
We’ve even harnessed the power of the Internet and the global technology community to strengthen the patent examination process by expanding our Peer-to-Patent (P2P) pilot program. This initiative improves the quality of the American IP process by allowing outside subject matter experts to contribute prior art—expanding the scope of our examination process. In an era of Wikipedia and crowd-sourcing, not only does this model allow the USPTO to stand ahead of the patenting curve by including inventive ways to improve patent quality, but it also increases our overall transparency—a goal vital to the Administration’s Open Government initiative.
It’s also why we’re proud of tools like our Dashboard and our newly revamped website. Such features give visitors real access to tools for navigating the IP system, and real insight into our performance, whether it’s the state of our backlog, inventory positions, or pendency. Ultimately, this doesn’t just show the public where we stand, it also motivates us to take an honest look at how differing processes are faring in terms of efficacy and efficiency—and improve upon them. Measures like the Dashboard and P2P help make our government more transparent and accountable to the American people.
And in Trademarks, for the fifth consecutive year, our outstanding Trademark Organization exceeded its pendency targets for first action and final disposition. Notably, the new “Excellent Office Action” quality measure—which indicates comprehensive quality of the First Office Action search strategy, evidence, writing and decision making—came in at 23.6 percent, handily exceeding the goal of 15 percent. In addition, Trademarks continued to meet and exceed its pendency goals and achieved an increase in the use of electronic filing and processing.
I am also very proud of the teamwork behind the highly successful 2011 National Trademark Expo, which attracted more than 15,000 people—our largest attendance to date—and featured more than 27 exhibitors, a 50 percent increase from previous years. Events like this help educate the public about the importance of IP and its ubiquitous role in our society.
In addition to these accomplishments, this year also marked the historic passage of the America Invents Act. This sweeping legislation, signed into law by President Obama in September, equips the USPTO with the resources necessary to operate an efficient IP system that processes patent applications and issues high-quality patents quickly. By transitioning to a simpler, more objective, and more inventor-friendly system of issuing patents, the new law helps ensure that independent inventors and small entities have greater clarity and certainty over their property rights and will be able to navigate the patent system on a more equitable footing with large enterprises.
The AIA also allows the USPTO to implement a fast-track examination option under which the patent examination process will be completed within 12 months. Getting a key patent can be critical to an entrepreneur hoping to raise capital and grow their business, with 76 percent of startups in the US reporting that venture capital investors consider patents when they make funding decisions.
So with over 2,000 applications already submitted under the new acceleration program, many hundreds of office actions mailed and over 20 notices of allowance, businesses of all sizes are already leveraging the new tool to develop, grow and market their products and services with unprecedented swiftness, under the AIA.
For the first time, the USPTO has the ability to recover the actual costs of the services it provides, and a reserve fund, solely for the Agency’s use, to access all of those fees. These provisions have allowed us to hire and train new personnel, educate examiners and the public about changes to the USPTO review process, aggressively modernize our IT infrastructure, expedite application processing and issue higher-quality patents—all without adding a dime to the national deficit.
The bi-partisan passage of the Leahy-Smith American Invents Act and its tangible impact on the way we do business shows that government can work, fostering innovation, investment and job creation for the benefit of all.
It has also led to strengthened work-sharing programs with other patent agencies overseas through the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), which allows each office to benefit from work previously done by others, reducing examination workload and improving patent quality.
The expedited examination in each office also allows applicants to obtain corresponding patents faster and more efficiently in each country.
In the last few weeks alone we’ve announced a number of PPH programs with our international partners, including a landmark work-sharing agreement with China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) under the Paris Convention (“Paris Route”) and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
The agreement comes at a very opportune time as China and the United States together make up a significant global market share for patent stakeholders.
For a more exhaustive look at these and other accomplishments, I encourage you to take the time to read our Performance and Accountability Report for 2011.
While all of these efforts point to our country’s commitment to innovation, perhaps no one event of the year tells that story better than the USPTO’s issuance of Patent No. 8,000,000—a sight restoration tool that gives the blind greater independence in their daily lives. It took 75 years to get from patent No. 1 to patent 1 million, yet just over five years to go from patent 7 million to 8 million. So beyond aiding the blind, this remarkable milestone is a testament to the enduring American spirit of innovation—a spirit that continues to unleash new breakthroughs, new markets and new economic opportunities.
That’s why we remain committed to building the world’s strongest Patent and Trademark Office, and that’s why we’re excited about some of the new challenges we face in the year ahead. For the first time in the history of the Agency, the USPTO will be opening a satellite office outside of the nation’s capital. The Elijah J. McCoy U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Detroit will provide a significant boost to that city’s innovation economy with more than 100 technologically-focused, secure jobs. And more satellite offices will soon follow, in other cities throughout the nation.
The goals of this ambitious expansion are to improve the hiring, recruitment and retention of top-quality Patent Examiners, to recruit directly in other geographic areas in the U.S. where engineering talent exists, and to increase our interaction with the IP community.
While continuing to improve the diversity and talent of our workforce, we are also drafting a “Green Paper” on copyright policy in the digital era, in order to ensure that the 21st century best balances strong IP protections with the free flow of information over the Internet. Additionally, in 2012 we’ll draft a broader-based “National IP Strategy” to outline this Administration’s key IP priorities, our plan to improve patent protection for small businesses at home, and our efforts to increase our engagement with China on issues of IP enforcement.
Finally, after soliciting public comment on the America Invents Act and seeking input from a variety of stakeholders, we will complete the rulemaking to establish a new post-grant review process that is faster and significantly cheaper than costly and prolonged litigation—resolving questions about patent rights more efficiently.
Unlike the re-examination process available today, the new post-grant review will allow issues of “subject matter” to be looked at and revamp the existing inter partes review system to adjudicate claims within 12 months; earlier resolution of disputes will weed out poor-quality patents sooner and add greater certainty to the US patent system.
For all that we’ve accomplished and the great things yet to come, the credit is due to the talent, dedication, and innovative spirit of USPTO employees who are working hard every day to produce positive results for the American people and our economy. I couldn’t be more proud to be part of such an outstanding team of professionals, and I truly look forward to another historic year with the world’s first and only 21st Century Patent and Trademark Office.
Happy Holidays!
Monday Dec 19, 2011 ~ A Farewell Message
Guest blog by USPTO Commissioner for Patents Bob Stoll
Earlier this month, with a mixture of excitement and sadness, I submitted my letter of resignation as Commissioner for Patents, effective Dec. 31. I can say without reservation that it was an honor to serve as Commissioner for the past two years and at the USPTO for the bulk of my career.
During my tenure leading the Patents organization we achieved some lofty goals, including the reduction of our patent backlog to less than 670,000, in spite of a five percent increase in filings, and we are on a trajectory to eliminate unacceptable backlogs in the future.
But the achievement that cheers me the most is the major culture shift we nurtured in the USPTO toward a more collaborative environment—supervisors mentoring examiners, examiners helping applicants, and the technical support folks helping move applications through the system.
Through training, educating, establishing joint work efforts, and undertaking listening campaigns we have created a truly 21st-century agency that is lauded for its service and highly praised by applicants, bloggers, unions and the public at large.
The USPTO is now regarded as a top employer, listed 19th in the annual ranking of Best Places to Work in the Federal Government.
The bi-partisan passage of the America Invents Act was a seminal event in patent history, the culmination of many years of discussion within the diverse patent community.
Together we created a patent system that provides inventors with more certainty that they will reap the benefits of their labors while at the same time providing more information and products to the citizens of the world. This new patent framework will aid in the creation of new jobs and the recovery of our economy, and I am very proud to have been a part of its enactment and implementation.
I want to acknowledge the contributions of my mentor, boss and friend, Director Kappos, to my success as Commissioner for Patents.
His leadership and vision are unparalleled in government service. He encourages thoughtful risk-taking and creative solutions to cure the ills of the agency. I will truly miss the almost hourly discussions, including weekends and holidays, about ways to improve the USPTO.
As I move on to other opportunities, I will also miss the rest of my friends at the USPTO and Department of Commerce, but I will still be a strong proponent of the great work being done here and a vocal participant in the patent dialogue as we continue to improve this system for the benefit of all.
Good luck to you all, and thank you for your great work and friendship.
==================
Okay, baby steps. Well at least now you know why things are so bogged down. Actually in the last year I've been watching, much progress has been made whereas prior to that time the whole process was slower than molasses running uphill. With new governance and directives, all things are possible and things are moving much faster now.
We can change anything if we put our minds to it. All this red tape can vanish in a heart beat and a stream line process can find it's way into the light with the proper motives instead of utter gridlock and 3D BS. As MLK once said, "We shall overcome" and open those secret energy vaults soon. Keep the faith and...
JUST IMAGINE ZERO-POINT ENERGY IN YOUR HOME!
I found this for you here: http://www.uspto.gov/blog/director/