I am pleased to announce that the USPTO is hosting a Patent Quality Community Symposium on Wednesday, April 27, 2016 at USPTO’s headquarters and at all Regional Offices. The symposium will feature updates on our implementation efforts for various programs that relate to patent quality, and you will be able to hear from Under Secretary and Director of the USPTO Michelle Lee about how enhanced patent quality is making a difference for the patent community.
I am especially excited to hear from you during the symposium’s two interactive segments. The first interactive segment is a workshop on our Master Review Form, which we published as part of our recent Federal Register Notice on Quality Metrics. The Master Review Form is a repository of items that a reviewer may cover when reviewing an Office action. During the workshop, participants will have an opportunity to apply sections of the Master Review Form to a sample Office action.
The second interactive segment is a panel discussion, moderated by Deputy Under Secretary and Deputy Director Russ Slifer. During this roundtable discussion, experienced patent practitioners will go over ways that applicants can enhance application filings, Office action responses, and attorney-examiner interactions during prosecution.
I invite you to attend the symposium either in-person at USPTO headquarters or at one of our regional offices, or by webinar. In-person attendance will allow you to fully participate in the two interactive segments. Click on the relevant link to reserve a seat at Headquarters, Alexandria, VA, Detroit, Denver, Dallas, or Silicon Valley. You can also attend by webinar, but you will not have full participation ability. Access information for webinar participation is available on our Patent Quality Community Symposium web page.
Even if you cannot attend, please stay part of this dialogue to strengthen our patent system and feel free to share the details of the symposium with others. For more information about the Symposium and the Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative, please visit our web page at EPQI.