Reengineering The Patent Process The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) began a long term effort to reengineer the patent process in March of 1995, responsive to customer requests for greater flexibility, and accelerated by the presidential mandates of the National Performance Review. The major goals of the project are to increase the quality of examination, reduce internal processing time, enhance customer satisfaction and improve employee morale. Over 150 employees from throughout the patent examining corps and support areas participated in the development of a new concept of operations. This high level description of the reengineered patent process was completed in September of 1995. A major effort is now underway to plan for the transition from current practices to those envisioned in the concept of operations. A necessary part of planning for the transition to the reengineered process is to prototype/pilot the proposed changes to determine their effectiveness and their contribution to the realization of PTO goals. A number of immediate initiatives have been identified for prototyping/piloting in the upcoming months. Several of these prototypes/pilots will involve the participation of patent process customers. As these immediate initiatives develop, additional Official Gazette notices will be published containing further details about the initiative and instructions for customers who may be participating in the prototype/pilot or may be affected by it. As the reengineering effort unfolds in the future, it is expected that many new practices and procedures will be prototyped/piloted. As our customers, your participation, and your feedback, are welcomed. Point of Contact for this Notice: Name: Terri Davis Telephone number: (703) 306-3104 Fax number: (703) 308-5192 May 10, 1996 EDWARD R. KAZENSKE Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Patents