National Summer Teacher Institute

National Summer Teacher Institute on Innovation, STEM, and Intellectual Property (NSTI)
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will conduct its 6th Annual National Summer Teacher Institute (NSTI) on Innovation, STEM, and Intellectual Property July 28-August 2, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Deadline to apply is May 22, 2019. 

To apply: https://www.uspto.gov/…/o…/national-summer-teacher-institute

Copyright protection among topics explored at free Los Angeles program on protecting your intellectual property in China

Are you a business, individual, or attorney looking to hear about strategies for better protecting intellectual property in China? If so, plan to attend a free USPTO China IP Road Show in Los Angeles on Friday, June 7.

Several sessions of the all-day program will focus on copyright protection and enforcement.

USPTO Director Andrei Iancu will provide opening remarks. 

Register to attend this free program. 

Additional programs are planned for later in 2019. Check the China IP Road Show page for updates.

PKI Outage for EFS-Web and Private PAIR

The USPTO will have a series of upcoming outages to begin the phased termination of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificates for Electronic Filing System-Web (EFS-Web) and Private Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR). This will not affect users accessing EFS-Web and Private PAIR with a verified USPTO.gov account.

The first PKI outage will be on May 22, starting at 12:01 AM and ending at 11:59 PM ET. Additional outages will be scheduled. Please see the USPTO System Status and Availability page for more information.

During the PKI outage, users will be unable to use PKI certificates to authenticate. However, authentication via verified USPTO.gov accounts to access EFS-Web and Private PAIR will be available. Please ensure that you migrated the proper PKI to the correct USPTO.gov account prior to the outage. If you have not migrated or need to sponsor support staff, please visit the Authentication Change webpage for guidance.

If you need to file a new application during this outage, please access EFS-Web with your verified USPTO.gov account, use EFS-Web for Unregistered eFilers, or use EFS-Web Contingency. If you need to file a follow-on submission and do not have a verified USPTO.gov account, please use an alternative filing method.

If you have questions or need to reverse an incorrectly migrated account, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) at ebc@uspto.gov or 866-217-9197.

Learn online how examiners approach claim interpretation

Do you want to learn about recent examination practice and procedure guidance? Attend our virtual instructor lead (vILT) course titled “Claim Interpretation” on June 4 and 5. 

Sign up by May 19 to attend.

The USPTO is applying for CLE credit in Virginia for this course. USPTO trainers will lead the course and have based the curriculum on recent patent examiner training. Class size is limited and selection for attendance is based on a first-come, first-served basis.

You can learn more about the program and upcoming sessions on the USPTO vILT page.

EFS-Web and PAIR unavailable May 24-27

EFS-Web, Private PAIR, and Public PAIR will be unavailable due to maintenance beginning Friday, May 24, at 11:59 p.m. and ending Monday, May 27, at 5 p.m. ET.

During the maintenance period, applicants may file new applications, except for National Stage applications under 35 U.S.C. 371, via EFS-Web Contingency.

If you need to file a National Stage application under 35 U.S.C. 371 or a follow-on submission to an existing application during the maintenance period, please use an alternative filing method.

For more information about the systems affected by the maintenance outages, please visit USPTO Systems Status and Availability.

If you have questions, please contact the Patent EBC at 1-866-217-9197 or ebc@uspto.gov.

TSDR API unavailable starting May 7

The Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) Application Programming Interface (API) will be unavailable starting May 7 at midnight ET for at least two weeks to address the impact of significant usage spikes. Unprecedented levels of bulk data scraping has impeded the work of Trademark employees and caused other significant IT issues. We apologize for any inconvenience. 

If you rely on third-party organizations to receive trademark status and document retrieval, these services could be impacted if the third party uses our TSDR API. 

Customers can still check the status of a trademark application and retrieve documents directly from TSDR at http://tsdr.uspto.gov. 

Bulk data customers who rely on the TSDR API can use alternative methods to receive bulk data from TSDR. If you are a bulk data customer who has questions or needs additional information, please send an email to TSDR@USPTO.GOV and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

New TM Status App

On Wednesday, May 8, you will be able to download the new TM Status App from Google Play or the Apple Store. With this app you can easily access trademark status information and set up notifications from your mobile device.

Attend a free forum on brand protection and anti-counterfeiting strategies

If you are interested in learning brand protection and anti-counterfeiting strategies, join us for a free, full-day conference on June 6 at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. Experts from the government and private sector will take an in-depth look at effectively combating counterfeit goods and strengthening your brand.

Unable to attend in person? The event will also be webcast.

Agenda, livestream, and registration information are available on our event page of the USPTO website.

Patent Term Adjustment Procedures in View of the Federal Circuit Decision in Supernus Pharm., Inc. v. Iancu.

Please see the following announcement in the Federal Register regarding “Patent Term Adjustment Procedures in View of the Federal Circuit Decision in Supernus Pharm., Inc. v. Iancu.”

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 90 (Thursday, May 9, 2019)]

[Notices]

[Pages 20343-20345]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Please see[FR Doc No: 2019-09600]

Attend a free forum on brand protection and anti-counterfeiting strategies

If you are interested in learning brand protection and anti-counterfeiting strategies, join us for a free, full-day conference on June 6 at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. Experts from the government and private sector will take an in-depth look at effectively combating counterfeit goods and strengthening your brand.

Unable to attend in person? The event will also be webcast.

Agenda, livestream, and registration information are available on our event page of the USPTO website.

New exam guide on marks for cannabis and cannabis-related goods and services

The USPTO have issued a new guide, "Examination of Marks for Cannabis and Cannabis-Related Goods and Services after Enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill." You can direct questions about the guide to TMPolicy@uspto.gov.

Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018

Please see the following announcement in the Federal Register regarding “Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearings on the Report Required by the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018.”

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 81 (Friday, April 26, 2019)]

[Notices]

[Pages 17809-17810]

From the Federal Register Online

Please see [FR Doc No: 2019-08437]

Invention Promoters/Promotion Firms Complaints

Please see the following announcement in the Federal Register  
regarding “Submission for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
Review; Comment Request; 
“Invention Promoters/Promotion Firms Complaints.”

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 83 (Tuesday, April 30, 2019)]

[Notices]

[Pages 18266-18267]

From the Federal Register Online 

Please see [FR Doc No: 2019-08674]