Public Records Division (PRD)/Public Search Services Division (PSSD)
Quarterly Public User's Meeting Minutes
September 25, 2012
The Public User's Meeting was held at 2:00 p.m. in the Global IP Academy, Madison East, 2nd floor, at 600 Dulany Street on the USPTO campus in Alexandria, Virginia. Martha Sneed, PSSD Director, chaired the meeting. There were 3 members of the public in attendance. John Owens, CIO was present at the meeting to field any questions the public may have had concerning IT issues.
Public Search Facility (PSF) Status
New X-Search updates are coming out to improve functionality. Beta testing is forthcoming in order to test the impact of the improvements.
A survey to measure customer satisfaction with the services provided in the PSF is coming soon. A link under the General tab on the UPWS workstations will provide access to the survey. The survey will be open for 2 weeks beginning in early October 2012. Survey Monkey is the provider of the survey. The public will also be able to access the survey outside of the PSF. Paper copies will be provided to customers who wish to take it that way. All responses will go directly to a survey administrator outside the PSF and will be held anonymously.
Question: Any feedback on changes/updates to the EAST system? There are no planned changes to EAST except to add Chinese data next year. (Note...there are no good translations). In the future EAST is going to be replaced; however no specific date has been set. CPC data will also be added once implemented.
Comment: WIFI connectivity has been sporadic and unreliable. According to some members of the public the WIFI disconnects every 30-60 seconds. Mr. Owens said he will have this checked out.
Question: Is it possible to have screen/keyboard cleaner available for the "grimy" workstations? All workstations received brand new keyboards several months ago. However, wipes suitable for both keyboard cleaning and monitor screen cleaning will be immediately made available at the online services desk.
Question: Can keyword search function be added to the CPC search system? Customers should make suggestions to: CPC@uspto.gov.
Question: Why is the search function in USPTO.GOV deactivated for users in the PSF? Security changes resulted in dismantling the ability to go outside the USPTO web site when using the Universal Public Workstation (UPWS), and this field goes outside the USPTO web site. Customers will need to access this through their own laptops as it will not be available through UPWS.
Public Records Division Status
The Assignment recordation cover sheet may be used in lieu of filing a separate oath or declaration.
Note: There were no questions for this area.
The Public User's Meeting was adjourned at 2:30pm. Next quarterly meeting date TBD.