Office of Public Records
Public User’s Meeting
September 21, 2005
2:00 p.m. - Randolph Building Conference Center

The Public Users Meeting was held at 2:00 p.m. in the 1st floor conference room 1D04/D14, Randolph Building on the USPTO campus in Alexandria, Virginia. Martha Sneed chaired the meeting. There were approximately 8 members of the public in attendance and 9 USPTO staff.

Public Search Facility Update

TICRS on the UPWS was released this weekend. The public users encountered a few problems and they will review them with Doug Salser after the meeting concludes.

A new version of PubWest is scheduled to be released approximately October 7, 2005. A new version of PubEast is scheduled to be released shortly after in November 2005.

Wireless Access

Wireless access in the Alexandria Public Search Facility was enabled on September 19, 2005. Handouts on terms and conditions are available in the Public Search Facility. The public users were very pleased with this addition.

Back up Power

The Friday early closings of the Public Search Facility in August for testing and implementing a new back up power system proved successful. On September 1, there was a power surge in Alexandria. With the back up power system in place the USPTO stayed up and running while local area retailers and homes did not.

Assignment Historical Database Enhancement

There is a link within AHD that will take you directly to the images, so that you will not have to go back to PatAssign or TMAssign. If there is no link provided there might not be an image or it could be a result of the small gap between new and current data. This will be available only for PSF and internal users and not available on the website. A demo on this new enhancement will be provided on Wednesday, September 28, 2005. You can register for the demo in the Public Search Facility.

Office of Public Records Update

Doug Salser announced that the Box Renewals have been sent out and that everyone should get in his or her order information.

Questions:

• There was a problem with TICRS today. Please check.
• User settings in EAST should be tracked with account not with search. Can this be fixed?
• Is there anyway to fix the fact that when I empty my trash at the end of a session I get booted of the system and I lose all of my searches conducted that day?
• In PGPubs can we create a button that would show all patents issued on that publication? Also, can we incorporate all foreign references in West into East?

Congratulations:

The Public wishes to thank PTO for the wireless access. This new wireless availability is a great help.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:25 p.m.

Next Meeting:

The next meeting will be on Wednesday, October 19, 2005, at the same location.

KEY: =online business system =fees =forms=help =laws/regulations =definition (glossary)

Is there a question about what the USPTO can or cannot do that you cannot find an answer for? Send questions about USPTO programs and services to the USPTO Contact Center (UCC). You can suggest USPTO webpages or material you would like featured on this section by E-mail to the webmaster@uspto.gov. While we cannot promise to accommodate all requests, your suggestions will be considered and may lead to other improvements on the website.