Partnering in Patents Meeting

Message from the USPTO:

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is pleased to announce that the Software Partnership has joined with Partnering in Patents for the next meeting on October 21, 2015 to be held on its Alexandria, VA campus. The meeting is an all-day event including a morning interactive focus session and an afternoon lecture program/discussion session. The morning focus session will be held from 9:00 am – 11:00 am and will feature an interactive group discussion on tools for quality enhancements. The afternoon program will run from 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm with discussion topics including USPTO initiatives, functional claiming, 35 U.S.C. § 101 and patent quality.

Partnering in Patents is a collaboration between the USPTO and the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Electronics and Computer Law Committee. The Software Partnership provides opportunities to bring stakeholders together to share ideas, experiences and insights and serves as a forum for an informal discussion of many topics specific to the software community. This joint meeting will provide an opportunity to advance the conversation about improving examination of software related patents. Members of the public are invited to attend each session.

Discussion of the program topics and additional ideas from the public will be solicited during the meeting. While public attendees will be offered the opportunity to provide input, group consensus advice will not be sought.

Additional information on both sessions can be found at the AIPLA Partnering in Patents webpage http://www.aipla.org/learningcenter/AM15/Pages/2014PIP.aspx. There is no cost to attend the meeting. However, if CLE credit is sought there is a $100 administrative fee, and advance registration is required.

DATE AND LOCATION: The Partnership Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at the USPTO Madison Auditorium North, Concourse Level, Madison Building, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. The focus session will be held from 9:00 am – 11:00 am. The afternoon program will run from 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm and will be accessible via WebEx.

Requests for Attendance at the Partnership Meeting:

To register for attendance to the joint meeting of Partnering in Patents and the Software Partnership please complete the registration form at the link below. Please indicate on your registration form whether you will participate in the morning focus session. Onsite registration will be permitted on a space available basis.

http://www.aipla.org/learningcenter/AM15/Documents/Partnering%20in%20Patents%202015.docx.

The completed registration form should be returned to AIPLA at:

Email: rvilaychith@aipla.org

Fax: 703.415.0786

Mail: AIPLA c/o Meetings, 241 18th St. S., Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22202

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Seema S. Rao by telephone at (571) 272-0800 or via email to seema.rao@uspto.gov.

Biotechnology, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Customer Partnership (BCP) Meeting

Message from the USPTO:

The USPTO’s next Biotechnology, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Customer Partnership (BCP) Meeting will be jointly hosted by Technology Centers 1600 (Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry) and 1700 (Chemical and Materials Engineering). This meeting will be on September 14, 2015 and will be simultaneously available at locations in the USPTO Headquarters (Alexandria, VA) and the Midwest Regional Office (Detroit, MI).  Participants will be able to interact with Office personnel in person at both locations, or alternatively, via webcast.

Some of the topics to be discussed by USPTO staff and stakeholders will include:

·         Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) Overview

·         Trends in Subject Matter Eligibility for Biotechnology Inventions (A Customer Perspective)

·         Practitioner’s Perspective on 101 as applied to Biotech Applications

·         Third Party Submission

·         AIA 130 Declaration

·         PCT National Stage Filing Tips

·         Double Patenting

Registration Information: Please email USPTOBCP1600@USPTO.GOV (link sends e-mail) to RSVP by September 9, 2015. Please include “BCP RSVP” in the email subject line.  In the email body, please include the following information:

·         Your name, title and organization

·         Contact information (e-mail, phone, etc.)

·         Your attending location ( Alexandria, Detroit, or online)

For additional information, please visit: http://www.uspto.gov/patent/initiatives/biotechnologychemicalpharmaceutical-customer-partnership-september-14-2015 and the AIPLA BCP site.

USPTO/AIPLA Roadshows on Patent Quality and AIA Trials

The USPTO and AIPLA (American Intellectual Property Law Association) will co-host a series of cross-country roadshows later this month with stops in Santa Clara, California; Dallas, Texas; and Alexandria, Virginia. Each daylong program will focus on enhancing patent quality (morning session) and conducting AIA trials (afternoon session), with numerous speakers from the USPTO and private practice.

CLE is available, and lunch is included. To register to attend, please visit: http://www.aipla.org/learningcenter/AIARoadShows/Pages/default.aspx

Deadline to register is Aug.18. Hope you’ll join us for a full day of learning from the experts!

Schedule:

Monday, Aug. 24, 2015

• Santa Clara University, Locatelli Center
• Co-sponsored by the High Tech Law Institute of Santa Clara Law

Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015

• Belo Mansion, Dallas
• Co-sponsored by the IP Section of the Dallas Bar Association

Friday, Aug. 28, 2015

• USPTO headquarters, Madison Auditorium

Agenda:

Time (Local Time)	Topic
9 to 9:10 am	Opening Remarks
9:10 to 9:45 am	Track 1: Patent Quality Initiative Overview
9:45 to 10:45 am	Track 2: Clarity of the Record and Drafting High Quality Applications
10:45 to 11 am	BREAK
11 to Noon	Track 3: Interviews and Measuring Quality
Noon to 1:30 pm	LUNCH-Luncheon Speaker: Russell Slifer, Deputy Director of the USPTO
1:30 to 1:50 pm	Track 4: PTAB State of the Board
1:50 to 2:45 pm	Track 5: Proposed AIA Trial Rule Changes
2:45 to 3:30 pm	Track 6: Hot Issues in AIA Trials
3:30 to 4 pm	BREAK
4 to 5 pm	Track 7: Actual AIA Trial Hearing

 

Windows 10 Issues with Select Patent Pages

Windows 10 comes installed with a new web browser, Microsoft Edge, that does not support plug-ins and will not run Java. Because Java is required for authentication to EFS-Web and Private PAIR, this impacts your ability to access EFS-Web and Private PAIR via Microsoft Edge.

To access EFS-Web and Private PAIR using Windows 10, Oracle is recommending the use of alternative browsers such as Firefox and Internet Explorer. IE11 will also be available on Windows10. For additional information regarding Java compatibility and instructions on how to access IE11 on Windows 10, please visit: http://www.java.com/en/download/faq/win10_faq.xml

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is working on a longer term plan to improve the overall authentication process. For USPTO updates regarding this issue, please visit either of our Announcements pages:

• EFS – Web Announcements: http://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/applying-online/efs-web-announcements

• PAIR Announcements: http://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/checking-application-status/pair-announcements

If you need assistance with this matter, or have questions on any eFiling topic, please visit the Patent Electronic Business Center webpage: http://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/patent-electronic-business-center for comprehensive contact information, FAQ’s, and other eFiling resources.