(137)               Training Materials on the Final Utility
                     Examination Guidelines are Available

   Copies of materials developed to train Examiners on how to apply the
Final Utility guidelines are now available to the public.
   On January 3, 1995 the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) published in
the Federal Register (60 FR 97) proposed utility examination guidelines
establishing the policies and procedures to be followed by Examiners
when examining applications for compliance with the utility requirement
of 35 U.S.C.    101. Comments from interested members of the public were
requested at that time. On July 14, 1995 the PTO published in the
Federal Register (60 FR 36263) the final version of the guidelines to be
used by Office personnel in their review of patent applications for
compliance with the utility requirement of 35 U.S.C.    101 and 35
U.S.C.    112, first paragraph.
   Training materials to supplement the Legal Analysis and Utility
Examination Guidelines are now available. The training materials include
a brief synopsis designed to give quick generic guidance with regard to
the most common situations where a question of utility under 35 U.S.C.  
 101 and 35 U.S.C.    112, first paragraph might arise. Examples which
are frequent in the examining groups are presented for each of the six
categories identified and have been drafted as raising various questions
concerning the utility examination guidelines.
   Requests for paper copies submitted by mail should be addressed to
the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, marked to the attention of
Jeff Kushan, Box 4, Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, D.C. 20231.
Requests in person may be submitted in Room 902, Two Crystal Park, 2121
Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia. Requests may also be submitted by
telephone at (703) 305-9300 and by telefax at (703) 305-8885.
   The training materials are available for retrieval from the Internet
(address: www.uspto.gov) or File Transfer Protocol (address:
ftp.uspto.gov). This material can also be accessed on the PTO Bulletin
Board System at (703) 305-8950 by using a computer with a modem and
telecommunication software set at any speed from 1200 to 9600 baud, 8
character bits, no parity, and 1 start/stop bit.

August 4, 1995                                          STEPHEN G. KUNIN
                                       Deputy Assistant Commissioner for
                                              Patent Policy and Projects

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