Change Regarding CASPIR Coding of U.S. Patents

   As of March 31, 1995, Patent Examining Group 2300 intends to discontinue
the CASPIR coding activity of marking the specification margins of printed
United States patents issuing in Class 395, Digests 1 and 2. CASPIR is a
system for searching computer related inventions by means of codes
representing concepts contained in patents issuing in these digests. These
codes are assigned by an examiner at the time of allowance of the patent
application. Previously, after the patent was printed; the margins of the
specification were marked with the appropriate codes, and the marked pages
of the specification were then added to the patent image data base of the
Automated Patent System (APS) in the Certificate of Correction section for
the patent. This has been an activity which has been both costly and
difficult to properly maintain. Furthermore, reclassification of many
parts of the Class 395 art has reduced the need for reliance upon CASPIR
for searching.
   The proper CASPIR codes will continue to be assigned at the time of
allowance of a patent application, so that CASPIR coding will be
maintained, but the marking of the margins of the specification with the
codes after the patent is printed will be discontinued. Due to a backlog
of printed patents awaiting to be marked by examiners in the Group,
patents which have issued since January 1, 1994 may not have CASPIR codes
marked in the specification margins.
   It will still be possible to search recently issued patents by CASPIR
codes in the Automated Patent System (APS) by employing the class/subclass
searching technique, but CASPIR coded pages of the specifications will no
longer appear in the Certificate of Correction section of the patents. For
further information, please consult the GROUP 2300 USERS GUIDE FOR APS
IMAGE SEARCHING (CASPIR), available from Gareth Shaw, Supervisory Patent
Examiner, Art Unit 2316.
   Any comments or questions should be directed to Gareth Shaw, Supervisoy
Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2316, by telephone at (703) 305-9600 or by mail
marked to his attention and addressed to Commissioner of Patents and
Trademarks, Washington, D.C. 20231.

Jan. 23, 1995                                                        BOBBY GRAY
                                                           Director, Group 2300