Quarterly, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC), meets at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. You can attend the public session of the meeting at the Alexandria campus, or watch on-line.
The PPAC reviews the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of patent operations and advises the director on these matters.
Please submit questions to ppac@uspto.gov.
Agenda:
| Time | Topic | Principal(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 - 9:05 | Call To Order Session Opening • Introductions, PPAC Remarks | Esther Kepplinger, PPAC Chair |
| 9:05 - 9:10 | Opening Remarks | Michelle Lee, Under Secretary and Director of the USPTO |
| 9:10 - 9:30 | Patent Examination Policy Update • Subject Matter Eligibility • Written Description for Design Applications | Robert Bahr, Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy |
| 9:30 - 10:25 | Quality Initiative Update • Patent Community Symposium • Quality Metrics • Re-evaluate AFCP 2.0 and Pre-Appeal • Topic Submission for Case Studies • External Survey Results | Richard Seidel, Deputy Commissioner for Patent Administration |
| 10:25 - 10:40 | >>> Break <<< | |
| 10:40 - 11:30 | Operations Update | Remy Yucel, Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations John Cottingham, Director, Central Reexamination Unit |
| 11:30 - 12:00 | International Update OPIA Updates: • WIPO Happenings • Trade Agreement Developments • Update on China Issues OIPC Updates: • Deputy Heads/Heads Meeting • Global Dossier Updates • Outreach Efforts • Access to Relevant Prior Art |
Karin Ferriter, Acting Deputy Chief Policy Officer, Office of Policy and International Affairs |
| 12:00 - 12:30 | >>> Lunch <<< | |
| 12:30 - 1:15 | Luncheon Speaker • IP Developments from a University's Perspective | Jeff Sears, Chief IP Counsel, Columbia University |
| 1:15- 1:30 | >>> Break <<< | |
| 1:30 - 2:00 | PTAB Update • PTAB Statistics • Rules Update • PTAB Initiatives | Nathan Kelley, Acting Chief Judge, PTAB |
| 2:00 - 2:20 | OCIO/ Patent-End-to-End Update • Outlook for Future Fixes | John Owens, Chief Information Officer Debbie Stephens, Associate Commissioner for Patent Information Management David Landrith, PE2E Portfolio Manager |
| 2:20 - 2:40 | Finance/Budget Update | Tony Scardino, Chief Financial Officer |
| 2:40 - 3:00 | Legislative Update | Dana Colarulli, Director, Office of Governmental Affairs |
| 3:00 - 3:15 | Closing Remarks | Andrew Hirshfeld, Commissioner for Patents |
| 3:15 - 3:30 | Discussion/Wrap-Up | Esther Kepplinger, PPAC Chair |