[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 235 (Wednesday, December 9, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65101-65102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-29329]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No.: PTO-P-2009-0041]


Patent Cooperation Treaty Task Force; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a public meeting to solicit public 
opinions on improvement of the USPTO's efficiency, operation and 
utilization of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

DATES AND TIMES: The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 
13, 2010, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Persons interested in attending the 
meeting must register by January 8, 2010.
    Written comments must be submitted by January 8, 2009.
    Location: The public meeting will be held in the South Auditorium 
of Madison West, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.

ADDRESSES: 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 Office of International 
Relations, USPTO, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, marked to 
the attention of Karin Ferriter. Although comments may be submitted by 
mail, submission via e-mail to the above address is preferable.
    The written comments will be available for public inspection on the 
USPTO Web site and by appointment at the Executive Library, located in 
Madison West, Tenth Floor, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia. 
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.
    For Registration to Attend and/or to Give a Presentation in the 
Meeting: If you wish to attend the public meeting and/or make an oral 
presentation at the meeting, you must register by e-mail (see 
ADDRESSES) by close of business on Friday, January 8, 2010. When 
registering, you must provide the following information: (1) Your name, 
title, and, if applicable, company or organization, address, phone 
number, and e-mail address and (2) if you wish to make a presentation, 
the specific topic or issue to be addressed (e.g., suggestions to 
improve the quality of an International Search Report) and the 
approximate desired length of your presentation.
    There is no fee to register for the public meeting and registration 
will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Early registration is 
recommended because seating is limited. Registration on the day of the 
public meeting will be permitted on a space-available basis beginning 
at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, January 13, 2010.
    We will do our best to accommodate all persons who wish to make a 
presentation at the meeting. After reviewing the list of speakers, we 
will contact each speaker prior to the meeting with the amount of time 
available and the approximate time the speaker's presentation is 
scheduled to begin. Speakers must then send the final electronic copies 
of their presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, or 
Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) to [email protected] by Monday, 
January 11, 2010 so that the presentation can be displayed in the 
Auditorium.
    If you need special accommodations due to a disability, please 
inform the contact person (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) by 
Friday January 8, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karin L. Ferriter (571) 272-9300, 
Office of Intellectual Property Policy and Enforcement, directly by 
phone, by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail addressed to: 
Mail Stop International Relations, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Patent and Trademark 
Office (USPTO) is establishing a PCT Task Force to consider the 
perspectives of interested parties concerned with improving the USPTO's 
activities as a receiving Office, an International Searching Authority 
(ISA), and an International Preliminary Examination Authority (IPEA), 
as well as of the PCT System as a whole. To support the operation of 
the Task Force, the USPTO will be holding a public meeting and inviting 
public comments. Further meetings may be announced as the Task Force 
develops its work.
    The number of patent applications filed in the USPTO and other 
Offices has increased significantly over the last decade. As worldwide 
patent protection is increasingly requested, Patent Offices are 
struggling under the burden of this increasing workload. With 142 
members, the PCT offers a comprehensive framework with widespread 
acceptance that can be used to address this challenge. To build upon 
this framework, the USPTO is considering how PCT applications could be 
included in worksharing efforts, and other process improvements such as 
allowing submission of prior art by applicants and third parties to 
further improve PCT processing.
    This notice is to inform users of the PCT and others of this 
opportunity to help the USPTO in its strategy to improve efficiencies 
and optimize the usefulness of the PCT system.
    The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently 
completed a PCT user survey. The results of this survey are posted 
here: http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/pct/en/activity/pct_survey_2009.pdf. The survey respondents indicate that the PCT system 
is functioning generally well, but that there is room for improvement 
in the USPTO, as well as other Offices. Participants may wish to 
provide more detailed information regarding matters addressed in the 
survey, or raise new matters such as those items listed in the 
questions below. Comments upon one or more of the following would be 
helpful:

[[Page 65102]]

    1. Please identify overall changes you recommend to the PCT system.
    2. Please explain why you use the PCT system, as opposed to direct 
foreign filing via the Paris Convention. What benefits are applicants 
seeking by the use of the PCT system, in addition to the longer time to 
decide where to enter the national stage?
    3. The USPTO has been contracting out the international search of 
international applications that designate the USPTO as the 
International Searching Authority, so as to help the USPTO improve the 
timeliness of the international search. From the applicant's viewpoint, 
please identify the advantages and disadvantages from this contracting 
out of the international search.
    4. In addition, please explain whether applicants have concerns 
with the USPTO's use of contractors for the international search of PCT 
applications.
    5. Please explain whether you support including PCT search and 
examination results in worksharing mechanisms, such as the Patent 
Prosecution Highway (PPH).
    6. Where the international search report and written opinion of the 
International Searching Authority are at least partially negative, 
please explain whether you would expect to request international 
preliminary examination under Chapter II of the PCT more often in order 
to get PPH benefit at the national phase?
    7. Please explain whether you believe the USPTO should encourage 
early national stage entry when designated as an ISA or IPEA, and 
implement a system that combines the international and national phase.
    8. Please identify any changes you recommend to improve the quality 
of the work produced under the PCT system.
    9. Please explain whether delaying the issuance of the 
International Search Report until after publication of the 
international application has any significant impact on your use of the 
PCT?
    10. Please explain whether you believe that the PCT would benefit 
from a third-party observation system (including submission of prior 
art) and/or more efficient means for applicant-submitted prior art.
    11. Please explain your primary reasons for choosing an ISA.
    12. Please explain how the USPTO could improve its processing as a 
receiving Office.
    13. Please explain how the USPTO could improve its processing as a 
designated/elected Office.
    The USPTO plans to make the meeting 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 meeting 
participants and their associations will be posted on the USPTO's 
Internet Web site (http://www.uspto.gov).

    Dated: December 2, 2009.
David J. Kappos,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. E9-29329 Filed 12-8-09; 8:45 am]
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