2016 Trademark Expo

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host the 2016 National Trademark Expo Friday, October 21, from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 22, from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium located at 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20240. The annual Trademark Expo serves to educate the public about trademarks, thereby advancing the USPTO's mission to deliver intellectual property information and education to the public. This free, family-fun, educational event includes exhibitors, kids programs, costumed characters, seminars, and more.

This year’s theme is “Movement and Energy.” Guest speaker Kevin M. Haley, President, Category Management and Innovation of Under Armour, Inc., will kick off the event.

If you are interested in exhibiting please submit the 2016 Application to exhibit. Space is limited.

For additional information, please check out the Trademark Expo website or contact TMExpo@uspto.gov

Patent Assignment Search System Enhancements

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has released a new and enhanced version of the Patent Assignment Search System. Users can take advantage of improvements that make it easier to search and obtain more comprehensive results. Some of the highlights include:

• Improved filter and display of basic search results.
• Ability to view attached patent assignment documents from Assignment Details and Abstract of Title section for all electronically available documents from mid-1998 to present.
• A "Quick Look-Up" of reel/frame number, property number, or name that displays the desired detailed assignment data directly.
• Ability to export data to CSV, PDF, and XML files.
• Direct links to PatFT and AppFT from Assignment Details and Abstract of Title sections.
• An API (application programming interface) for external applications to retrieve/read assignments data (support for XML only).
• User-requested features from Legacy AOTW, such as Assignee Summary/Details and Assignor Summary/Details.
• Improved layout, labeling, and tooltips.

If you have questions or need assistance with the Patent Assignment Search System, contact us at AssignmentSearch@uspto.gov or call the Assignment Recordation Branch at 571-272-3350.

Trademark Assignment Search System Enhancements

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has released a new and enhanced version of the Trademark Assignment Search System. Users can take advantage of improvements that make it easier to search and to obtain more comprehensive results. Some of the highlights include:

• Three ways to search the Assignment database: 

(1) the “Quick Look-up”, which is similar to the old search system allowing you to enter a reel/frame, registration number, assignor name, etc., 

(2) a general “Search” feature, which allows you to input information and search all fields at once for that information, and

(3) an “Advanced Search,” which, among other enhancements,              allows: 

 -The user to search date ranges and use Boolean operators.

 -Use of wildcard search operators and fuzzy operators so the user can retrieve alternate spellings of   any entered information. 

• Search results now are displayed in a more user friendly format. 
• The user can export the trademark search results to CVS, PDF, and XML formats.
• The user can filter the basic search results as needed.

We trust this new search system will be useful and we encourage you to provide any comments or suggestions you may have regarding this new system by sending an email to TMFeedback. 

Meet the Patent Experts

Attend an interactive Q&A session with patent experts at the USPTO Texas Regional Office. Come and get an overview of intellectual property and the different kinds of patents. This will be followed by a deeper discussion into provisional applications.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is recommended since space is limited.  Register now to secure your seat.

For inquiries about the event:
please email texasregionalUSPTOEvents@USPTO.GOV, visit us at the Texas Regional Office home
page, or call us at 469-295-9000.

When:
Thursday, October 13, 2016
12:30– 1:30 pm (CST)

Where:
Texas Regional Office-USPTO
207 South Houston St., Suite 159 Dallas, TX 75202

Registration:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-the-patent-experts-tickets-27285908888

What's Happening at the USPTO Texas Regional Office In September

Outreach Events for the Month of September 2016:

September 7: Meet the Trademark Experts

The USPTO-Texas Regional Office will be hosting an interactive question and answer session with the Trademark Assistance Center at the USPTO Headquarters in Alexandria VA on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at 12:30- 1:30 pm CT. During this virtual meeting with the Assistance Center, participants will be able to ask questions through our video teleconferencing capability.

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-the-trademark-experts-at-the-uspto-texas-regional-office-tickets-26880930587

September 9: Public Tour of the Texas Regional Office

The USPTO-Texas Regional Office Public hosts tours of the facility on the second Friday of every month from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

September 20: Advanced Patent Seminar

Join us at the USPTO Texas Regional Office for an Advanced Patent Seminar focused on various aspects of the patent process.  The seminar will cover the required elements of a utility patent application, claim drafting, invention search and criteria for determining patentability of an invention.  Patent Cooperation Treaty and International Application will also be discussed. 

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/advanced-patent-seminar-hosted-by-the-uspto-texas-regional-office-tickets-27001190287

 

USPTO Texas Regional Office

(469) 295-9000

texasregionalusptoevents@uspto.gov
http://www.uspto.gov/about-us/uspto-locations/dallas-texas

Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program Comment Request

The Tues., Sept. 6, 2016 edition of the Federal Register (v. 81, No. 172, Pages 61195-61196)contains a comment request on the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program:

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has a pilot program (Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program) in which an applicant, under certain conditions, can request a 12-month time period to pay the search fee, the examination fee, any excess claim fees, and the surcharge (for the late submission of the search fee and the examination fee) in a nonprovisional application. The Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program is currently set to expire on December 31, 2016. The USPTO is seeking public comment on whether the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program offers sufficient benefits to the patent community

for it to be made permanent or whether the USPTO should permit the program to expire.

DATES: Comment Deadline Date: Written comments must be received on or

before November 7, 2016.

See more information including the USPTO's preference for electronic over paper comments at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-09-06/html/2016-21306.htm

Cancer Moonshot Challenge

The Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016 Federal Register (Vol. 81, No. 172, Pages 61196-61198) contains the following notice:

USPTO Cancer Moonshot Challenge

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) publishes this notice to announce the Cancer Moonshot Challenge, which was launched on August 22, 2016, to enlist the public's help to leverage the USPTO's intellectual property data, often an early indicator of meaningful research and development, and combine it with other economic and funding data. This challenge supports the goals and objectives of the National Cancer Moonshot, a Presidential initiative

to speed up cancer advances, make more therapies available to more patients, and improve the ability to prevent cancer and detect it at an early stage. This notice provides the public with information on participation and application requirements for the challenge, including the judging criteria, submission requirements, and rules of eligibility.

DATES: Challenge Deadline: The deadline for submissions is September 12, 2016, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).

ADDRESSES: All individuals or entities who wish to participate in the challenge must register and submit their entry through www.challenge.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, please contact Thomas A. Beach, Office of the Under Secretary and Director, at 571-272-8600.

For more information: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-09-06/html/2016-21349.htm

Streamline Patent Issuance and Utilize Information from Related Applications

From the Federal Register, Vol, 81, No. 167 (Monday, Aug. 29, 2016) Pages 59197-59199

Request for Comments and Notice of Roundtable Event on Leveraging Electronic Resources To Retrieve Information From Applicant's Other Applications and Streamline Patent Issuance

---------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is continuing its efforts to expedite and improve the overall patent process. Accordingly, the USPTO is exploring how to best utilize available electronic resources to provide examiners with information(e.g., prior art, search reports, etc.) from applicant's other applications as early as possible to increase patent examination quality and efficiency. These other applications, for example, could have the same or substantially the same disclosure (e.g., domestic parent and counterpart foreign applications) as the U.S. application being examined. In addition to improving patent examination quality and efficiency, providing the examiner with this information from applicant's other applications will reduce applicant's burden to provide this information to the USPTO.

    Further, the USPTO is seeking to reduce the issuance time of a patent by eliminating potentially unnecessary information from the front page of the patent. In particular, the USPTO is seeking public comment on what information, beyond a copy of the specification and drawing that is required by statute, should be part of the patent considering that complete information concerning U.S. patents and U.S. patent application publications are accessible to the public via the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system.

For more information: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-08-29/html/2016-20703.html