[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 202 (Wednesday, October 21, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54028-54029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25262]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No. [PTO-P-2009-0039]


Request for Comments and Notice of Roundtable on Work Sharing for 
Patent Applications

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In an effort to avoid duplication of work and to expedite the 
patent examination process, the United States Patent and Trademark 
Office (USPTO) has been developing work-sharing initiatives in which an 
office uses, to the maximum extent practicable, the work already done 
by another office. The USPTO is conducting a roundtable to obtain input 
from diverse sources in the patent community and/or the public sector 
to evaluate views on work sharing. The roundtable is open to the 
public. The USPTO plans to invite a number of roundtable participants 
from patent user groups, practitioners, industry, independent inventor 
organizations, academia, and Government. To ensure that the USPTO is 
receiving a balanced array of views on work sharing, the USPTO also 
plans to have a few ``at-large'' participants based upon requests 
received in response to this notice. To ensure that all who are 
speaking will have a meaningful chance to do so, the number of 
participants in the roundtable is limited. Those who wish to 
participate in the roundtable must do so by written request. Members of 
the public who wish solely to attend and observe the roundtable need 
not submit a request.
    In addition, any member of the public may submit written comments 
on issues raised at the roundtable or on any issue pertaining to work 
sharing.
    Dates and Times: The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, 
November 18, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The deadline for receipt of 
requests to participate in the roundtable is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 
November 4, 2009.
    The deadline for receipt of written comments for consideration by 
the USPTO on issues raised at the roundtable or on any issue pertaining 
to work sharing is December 11, 2009.

ADDRESSES: The roundtable will be held at the USPTO, Madison 
Auditorium, Concourse Level, Madison Building, 600 Dulany Street, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22314.
    Requests to participate at the roundtable are required and must be 
submitted by electronic mail message through the Internet to 
[email protected]. Requests to participate at the roundtable 
should indicate the following information: (1) The name of the person 
desiring to participate and the person's contact information (telephone 
number and electronic mail address); and (2) the organization(s) the 
person represents, if any.
    Written comments should be sent by electronic mail message over the 
Internet addressed to [email protected]. Comments may also be 
submitted by mail addressed to: Mail Stop OIPPE, United States Patent 
and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, ATTN: 
Elizabeth Shaw. Although comments may be submitted by mail, the USPTO 
prefers to receive comments via the Internet.
    The written comments will be available for public inspection by 
appointment only at the Office of Intellectual Property Policy and 
Enforcement in the Executive Library located in Madison West, Tenth 
Floor, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. Contact: 
Elizabeth Shaw at [email protected] or 571-272-8494.
    Because comments will be made available for public inspection, 
information that is not desired to be made public, such as an address 
or phone number, should not be included in the comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Shaw, Office of Intellectual 
Property Policy and Enforcement, by phone 571-272-8494, by facsimile to 
571-273-0121, by e-mail at [email protected] or by mail 
addressed to: Mail Stop OIPPE, United States Patent and Trademark 
Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450, ATTN: Elizabeth 
Shaw.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Inventors and companies are increasingly 
seeking intellectual property protection for their inventions 
domestically and in multiple international markets. Because of the 
fractured nature of the global patent system, applicants must file 
different applications for their inventions in each country leading to 
multiple searches

[[Page 54029]]

and examinations. This redundancy not only creates inefficiencies and 
additional costs for applicants, but also results in the offices around 
the world duplicating a substantial amount of work. The USPTO and many 
offices around the world now face a growing backlog of pending 
applications, and applicants must wait longer times for an application 
to receive an examination. Through work sharing, an office eliminates 
the redundancy by utilizing the work of another office thereby 
expediting patent prosecution.
    The USPTO is conducting a roundtable to evaluate the patent 
community and/or the public sector's views on work sharing, including 
current work-sharing efforts, as well as suggestions for future work-
sharing opportunities. The USPTO plans to invite a number of roundtable 
participants from patent user groups, practitioners, industry, 
independent inventor organizations, academia, and Government. To ensure 
that the USPTO is receiving a balanced array of views on work sharing, 
the USPTO also plans to have a few ``at-large'' participants based upon 
requests received in response to this notice. To ensure that all who 
are speaking will have a meaningful chance to do so, the number of 
participants in the roundtable is limited. Those who wish to 
participate in the roundtable must do so by written request. Members of 
the public who wish solely to attend and observe the roundtable need 
not submit a request.
    Any member of the public, however, may submit written comments for 
consideration by the USPTO on issues raised at the roundtable or on any 
other issues pertaining to work sharing. Persons submitting written 
comments should note that the USPTO does not plan to provide a 
``comment and response'' analysis of such comments as this notice does 
not constitute a notice of proposed rule making.
    The USPTO plans to make the roundtable available via Web cast. Web 
cast information will be available on the USPTO's Internet Web site 
before the roundtable. The written comments and list of the roundtable 
participants and their associations will be posted on the USPTO's 
Internet Web site.

    Dated: October 14, 2009.
David J. Kappos,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. E9-25262 Filed 10-20-09; 8:45 am]
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