Public Records Division (PRD)/Public Search Services Division (PSSD)
Quarterly Public User's Meeting
June 25, 2014
The Public User's Meeting was held at 1:00 p.m. in the Global IP Academy, Madison East, 2nd floor, at 600 Dulany Street on the USPTO campus in Alexandria, Virginia. Martha Sneed, Director of PSSD, chaired the meeting. There were 9 members of the public in attendance.
Chief Information Officer John Owens was present at the meeting to field questions concerning Information Technology issues. Also in attendance was staff from the Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC) to elaborate on the Foreign Patent Service Center (FPSC) and the services it provides. They included:
Bode Fagbohunka, Division Chief, Centralized Services Division
Ginger DeMille, Division Chief, Digital Resources Division
Tom Stevenson, Branch Chief, Foreign Patent Service Center (FPSC)
Foreign Patent Service Center
Handouts were distributed that included the presentation slides. The presentation provided an overview of the services available to the public through the resources of the FPSC, located in the Remsen Building. Questions after the presentation included the following:
Is there more foreign patent NPL available? A user was not allowed to enter the lower level and search through the documents housed there. In order to access this area which is located on the Concourse level, the user must be escorted by a staff member.
Is there going to be an improvement in searches of images? Customers voiced concerns about getting full-text of non US documents comparable to the examiners' access. FPSC staff will get back to the customers to obtain more specifics on the concern.
Following a full-hour of discussion, Mr. Stevenson requested that all further questions concerning foreign patent availability be directed to his office and he will be very happy to answer them. Mr. Stevenson provided business cards with his contact information to all attendees and encouraged them to contact him.
Public Search Facility (PSF) Updates
Deployment of dual monitors is completed on the public workstations in the PSF.
Question: Is there any way the public users can access the PSF without standing in line behind people going to GIPA functions/classes/meetings? The public accessing the search room do not have to wait in line behind GIPA attendees. Show your access card to the guards and enter the PSF.
Wireless Access - John Owens
The wireless network in the PSF dedicated to the public is going away. Everyone will be using the USPTO Guest wireless access. Password and ID is required which is free to the public. Bandwidth will not be increased; heavy users will be limited so they will not disrupt other users.
Public Records Division Status
No updates at this time.
Question: A customer tried to order an IPR file through Certification Section in PTCFB but experienced a problem. Donna Cooper and Joyce Johnson both spoke with the customer and helped work out a solution to the problem she experienced.
The Public Users' Meeting was adjourned at 3:10pm.
Next meeting date: TBD