Successful Track Record of Patents Customer Partnership Meetings
Guest blog by Commissioner for Patents Drew Hirshfeld and Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations Andy Faile
In 2017, the USPTO’s Technology Centers held ten Patents Customer Partnership Meetings, and based on their success, we plan to increase the number of meetings this year. Started several years ago, these meetings provide a valuable opportunity for our customers to meet directly with Technology Center Group Directors, Supervisory Patent Examiners, and other agency representatives in a collaborative forum. The meetings focus on various technical areas such as manufacturing, biotechnology, cybersecurity, business methods, computer, and other electrical technologies. The events are free, open to the public, and are often webcast to include viewing sessions across the country.
Customer Partnership Meetings enable the patent community to share ideas, experiences, and insights as well as to discuss examination policies and procedures, mutual concerns, and solutions to common problems. These discussions help provide a solid foundation to facilitate resolution of any future prosecution related issues. Because these meetings are hosted by the Technology Centers, technology specifics can also be readily discussed as well as changes to the legal landscape that may impact some areas of filings more significantly than others. The meetings also allow the USPTO to share plans on any operational efforts and upcoming changes.
Technology Center 3600/3700 Customer Partnership Meeting
All of the events have received enormous positive feedback, including:
July 2017, Technology Center 2600 Customer Partnership Meeting – Attendees stated “In my experience, I feel that the quality of examination and the level of cooperation that I now receive from the PTO examiners (particularly over the last 2-5 years) is better than it has ever been” and “I’ve been in this business for 25 years, and I found the day to be extremely worthwhile.” Other attendees expressed that discussions held at these customer partnership meetings will help them in preparing responses to examiner office actions that will advance prosecution in a more productive manner.
September 2017, Business Methods Partnership Meeting – This was a great opportunity to bring stakeholders together to share ideas, experiences, and insights and provided a forum for an informal discussion of many topics specific to the Business Methods area. Attendees stated “This is a helpful, productive partnership meeting... A balance of USPTO updates, new initiatives, and panel discussions between USPTO and outside practitioners is great.”
October 2017, Partnering in Patents – One of the discussion topics was Alice in the Electrical Arts. Several of the attendees indicated that the discussion with those who are reviewing cases on a regular basis, specifically for statutory subject matter, really provided an insightful perspective in their approach to making decisions on abstract ideas, as well as what qualifies as significantly more.
The next event is a Technology Center 2600 (Communications Technology) Customer Partnership Meeting on January 17. We have also launched a page on the USPTO website to host all information related to Patents Customer Partnership Meetings. On the webpage, users can browse past and upcoming Patents Customer Partnership Meetings, and also sign up for Patent Alerts, which provide useful notifications about upcoming events, meetings, and updates.
Posted at 11:36AM Jan 12, 2018 in patents |