June 28, 1995
PAT 95-22

Press Release - PAT 95-22

PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE HANDLES UPSURGE IN GATT RELATED APPLICATIONS

	  
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

     The Patent and Trademark Office received and processed over
50,000 applications for patents during the nine days prior to the
June 8th deadline when the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade/Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property (GATT/TRIPS) agreement provisions took effect.  These
provisions, which will change the way patent terms are measured,
created an incentive for some applicants to file before the
deadline.

     The GATT contains numerous provisions which various agencies
of the Federal government are required to implement.  One of
these provisions, affects the term of U.S. patents.   Under the
pre-GATT/TRIPS system, the term of a patent ran for 17 years from
the time a patent was granted.  Under the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act of the GATT/TRIPS, the term of a patent, based on
an application filed on or after June 8, 1995, will end 20 years
from the earliest effective filing date claimed in the
application.  As part of the period of transition to this new
system, applicants for patents, except for design applications,
who filed before the June 8th effective date will enjoy the
greater of a patent term running 17 from grant or 20 years from
filing, creating an incentive to file before the deadline.  For
many inventors, this new system will increase the term of their
patent since the average pendency is 19.4 months from the filing
of the application to grant.
   
     In anticipation of an increase in applications due to this
deadline, the Patent and Trademark Office had, several months
ago, prepared a series of contingency plans to effectively
respond to a variety of different scenarios.  The actual increase
of approximately 45,000 applications above what normally would
have been filed during the period, represents almost one quarter
of the years projected filings in only nine days.  The walk up
window where applicants can file in person normally receives
about 250 applications per day.  On June 7th, the last day before
the deadline, over 3,900 applications were filed, mostly in the
evening.

     The number of applications was, however, well within
projected planning levels and are being handled by two working
groups.  While one team oversees the logistics of processing the
applications, the other is working on ensuring that each pre-
deadline application is considered as rapidly as possible without
jeopardizing the post-deadline patent pendency.  

     According to Edward Kazenske, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
for Patents, the last minute flood of applicants matched PTO's
projections.  "We fully expected this would happen and we were
completely prepared to deal with the challenge.  Extra staff and
shifts were authorized to deal with the work load.  All of the
52,000 plus applications have been date stamped, jacketed and
sequenced for pre-examination processing.  Commissioner Bruce
Lehman and I were delighted by our employees response and
diligence in accomplishing a monumental task."


                        XXXXXX