Public User's Meeting

Public Records Division/Public Information Services Division
Public User's Meeting
September 16, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Jefferson Building Conference Center

The Public User's Meeting was held at 2:00 p.m. in the 1st floor conference room 1D70/1D80 of the Jefferson Building at 500 Dulany Street on the USPTO campus in Alexandria, Virginia. Martha Sneed, Manager PISD, chaired the meeting. There were three members of the public in attendance.

Announcements

USPTO will be closed Oct. 12, 2009 in observance of the Columbus Day holiday.

Public Search Facility (PSF) Updates

There will be a reduction in the number of microfilm reader/printers and copiers in the PSF by September 30, 2009. The number of microfilm readers/printers will be reduced to six and there will be one photocopier available on the 1st and 2nd floors. Periodic assessments of the usage of these machines will determine if their numbers are increased.

A new version of PubEAST deployed over the past weekend. Improvements included the elimination of duplicate hits, and an increase in the number of items tagged to 25. Ability to change the defaults is explained in a handout going up in the PSF. It has screen shots of changes/enhancements for users.

Question: Is extra storage space available? Storage space is a feature of UPWS, not PubEAST.

Question: Is there a point of contact for suggestions on enhancements to PubEAST? Please submit all suggestions via the PSF email address and they will be forwarded to the specific USPTO area with responsibility for PubEAST.

Question: Will trademark information that is only on microfilm be transitioned to pc access? All of the non-electronic information sources in PSF are routinely reviewed for this possibility. Thus far, such a conversion is cost prohibitive with the resource limitations currently being experienced agency wide.

Question: Is there a complaint outlet for PubPAIR? Submit complaints concerning PubPAIR through the EBC (Electronic Business Center).

Comment: A user commented he had seen a display at the NASA museum in Kitty Hawk, NC that stated only 1 in 1,000 patent applications is approved. This concern was forwarded to the Office of Public Affairs.

Public Records Division Update

There are no updates at this time.

Adjournment

The Public User's Meeting was adjourned at 2:40pm. Next scheduled meeting will be Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009 at 2:00pm in the Remsen Building Conference Center, 1D04/1D14.