Director's Blog: the latest from USPTO leadership

The New Ombudsman Pilot Program

Blog by Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos

By now you’ve no doubt heard about the Agency’s “Ombudsman Program” which was announced in early April. 

One of the Agency’s strategic priorities is to improve relations with our stakeholders. The newly initiated Ombudsman Pilot Program has been established to assist in meeting that priority.

At times, when I am speaking with patent practitioners and applicants, they share their frustrations with the patent process. Examples include cases where the examination process has stalled or where applicants are unsure of the appropriate person to contact for assistance. At other times an applicant or attorney may simply need assistance getting connected with the USPTO employee who can assist them with a particular issue.

To put it another way, applicants have asked for a pressure relief valve, and we have implemented it.

To help with the above, and many other issues that may occur during the patent process, the Agency has implemented the Patents Ombudsman Pilot Program. The Program is running across all of our Technology Centers, using TC ombudsman representatives who are Supervisory Patent Examiners (SPEs) and Quality Assurance Specialists (QASs) prepared to field questions and concerns from the public and work with the appropriate PTO employees (SPEs, Directors, Petitions contacts, etc.) to facilitate responses. The ombudsman representative will help ensure that the applicant's issues are addressed quickly – usually within five business days. The ombudsman representative will also ensure confidentiality when requested by the applicant or applicant's representative. 

I look forward to our new Ombudsman Program strengthening the USPTO’s ability to provide our stakeholders with the most efficient and precise service possible. Please give it a try in cases where a pressure relief valve is needed.  More information about the Ombudsman Program can be found on our Web site. I look forward to your feedback on the Program.

Posted at 06:54AM May 12, 2010 in patents  |  Comments[3]