TPAC Meeting

 

TRADEMARK PUBLIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE AGENDA

USPTO Headquarters
Paris Conference Room
Madison East 2nd Floor
600 Dulany Street
Alexandria, VA

Public Meeting Agenda
Friday, February 20, 2009

Click here to access a recorded webcast of the public session.

 

For the Public’ Review Prior to the Meeting on February 20, 2009:

The USPTO is committed to providing content accessibility to disabled individuals. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any file, please contact Joyce Miller at 571-272-5422 for accessibility assistance.

 

Please note that TPAC has asked that all presentations be submitted in writing at least two weeks prior to this meeting. Thus, each item below is intended to be for discussion, asking questions and public comments rather than for presentation of information that can be submitted in writing in advance.

9:00 a.m. - Introduction by Committee Chair.

9:05 a.m. - Welcome and brief comments by USPTO Leadership.

9:15 a.m. – Identification of and entering into the record of non-confidential documents submitted to TPAC by USPTO for review in anticipation of this public meeting. These documents will be posted on the TPAC portion of the USPTO website.

9:20 a.m. – Discussion with OCIO about status of ongoing technological remediation, including

  • Are roadmap milestones being hit and goals being accomplished?
     
  • Will (and when will) the roadmap permit end-to-end electronic processing of trademark applications and other trademark matters?
     
  • How will the roadmap facilitate the Trademark Work at Home (TWAH) program?

10:20 a.m. – Discussion with OCFO about current budget issues, including:

  • Discussion of the progress of the fee study requested by TPAC at the October 2008 public meeting.
     
  • Discussion of the allocation of costs between the patent and trademark sides of the USPTO in currently in-process USPTO budgets, particularly in light of the ongoing massive hiring of new patent examiners.
     
    • According to the Trademark Operation, trademarks paid 16.9% more for its services it received from CFO and 6% more for its services from CAO in 2008 as compared with 2009. What caused that increase?
  • Discussion of the appropriate role of TPAC input in USPTO budget formulation.

[5-minute break]

11:20 a.m. – Discussion with a representative of the TTAB, including:

  • Discussion of the speed of opposition and cancellation proceedings in the TTAB, and how to proceed on this issue.
  • Discussion of recent developments concerning the Medinol line of cases.

11:50 a.m. – Public comments on any other issues (if any).

12 p.m. – Adjourn public meeting.

After this public meeting, TPAC anticipates having a TPAC-only executive session in the afternoon to discuss any confidential matters.

Some contents linked to on this page require a plug-in:
>> Word and Powerpoint Viewer
>> PDF Viewer