USPTO releases SUCCESS Act report to Congress

Report looks at participation of women, minorities, and veterans in the patent system

October 31, 2019

 

On October 31, 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) transmitted to Congress a report required by the SUCCESS Act of 2018. The report looks at publicly available data on the participation rates of women, minorities, and veterans in the patent system, finding that there is limited information on these underrepresented groups. It makes a series of recommendations regarding legislation and initiatives that can help increase awareness among these groups of the importance of intellectual property and facilitate their participation in the patent system.
Download report
Visit our SUCCESS Act webpage to learn more about the USPTO's SUCCESS Act initiative.

New Redesigned web page

You may have noticed some changes on www.uspto.gov. We recently redesigned the landing pages for each of the major sections of our website:

• Patents
• Trademarks
• IP Policy
• Learning and Resources

Along with a new look and feel, the pages have more links and intuitively organized information, as well as a toolbar for commonly used USPTO transactional systems like EFS-Web, PAIR, TEAS, and TESS, to name a few. Each section page also includes the latest news and upcoming events related to its focus.

This work is part of a continuous effort to refine the USPTO.gov website based on stakeholder feedback and usability best practices.

You can sign up to volunteer to be part of user testing of future web improvements or send the web team feedback at OCCOfeedback@uspto.gov.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Webinar for those new to ex parte appeals

 

New to ex parte appeals or want to learn more about them? Please join the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for a Boardside Chat webinar on Thursday, November 7 from noon to 1 p.m. ET. Lead Judge James Worth and Judge Alyssa Finamore will explain the ex parte appeal process, tips for filing your appeal brief, and how to make effective arguments before the Board. 

The webinar is free and open to all. There will be a Q&A session at the end of the presentation, so please send questions in advance or during the webinar to PTABBoardsideChat@uspto.gov.

More information, including the webinar access information, is available on the PTAB Boardside Chat page of the USPTO website.

Update on Subject Matter Eligibility

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today provided notice of an update to the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (2019 PEG).

The October 2019 Update responds to public comments regarding the 2019 PEG. The update does not change the 2019 PEG, but provides further explanation on how the USPTO applies such guidance. For example, the update provides additional information on how the USPTO determines if a claim “recites” an abstract idea and how groupings within the abstract idea exception are determined. It also explains the procedures examiners can use to identify “tentative abstract ideas” and provides more information on how examiners evaluate whether a judicial exception is integrated into a practical application. The update also addresses the examiner’s responsibility to provide adequate notice to applicants in making a subject matter eligibility rejection. In addition to the written explanations described above, the update includes additional helpful examples in the life sciences and data processing areas. It also includes an updated index of examples for use with the 2019 PEG and an updated case law chart that lists selected eligibility cases from the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The October 2019 Update materials are available to the public on the Subject Matter Eligibility page of the USPTO website. Feedback on the update or on any patent eligibility issue is welcome on an ongoing basis. Instructions for submitting feedback, and more information on the public comments, are available on our Subject Matter Eligibility page.

Learn how examiners approach unity of invention

Interested in learning more on recent examination practice and procedure guidance related to unity of invention? Attend our Virtual Instructor Led Training (vILT) course “Unity of Invention” on December 10, 11, and 12, 2019. This course is based on recent training delivered to patent examiners.

Due to limited capacity, selection for attendance is based on a first-come, first-served basis. Use our sign-up form to register.

The USPTO is applying for two hours of CLE credit in Virginia for this course.

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

Notice of system maintenance

Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) and Trademark Electronic Application System International (TEASi) will be unavailable due to system maintenance. After this maintenance period, you will need to log in to a USPTO.gov account with two-step authentication to access TEAS and TEASi forms.

Watch the TEAS and TEASi login requirement webinar to prepare for this change.

When:

Saturday, October 26, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET

What you should do:

File all saved forms and e-signature forms by midnight ET on Friday, October 25 to make sure your data is not lost. If you don’t file these forms before the maintenance begins, you will have to start the process again with new forms. We apologize for any inconvenience.

More information:

Read the release highlights on our TEAS and TEASi maintenance and enhancement page of the USPTO website to find out more about the changes we are making to TEAS and TEASi.

Agents and attorneys: Learn to think like an examiner

If you are a patent attorney or agent, it helps to think like an examiner. Learn how examiners make decisions in the Stakeholder Training on Examination Practice and Procedure (STEPP) agent and attorney course on January 28-30, 2020 at the Miami Beach Regional Library in Miami, Florida.

We will lead in-person courses based on material developed to train our employees. Training focuses on how our examiners review patent applications according to the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). Similar to entry-level examiners, each attendee will use a sample application that will be the focus of exercises.

We are applying for CLE credit in Florida for this course.

Use the STEPP sign-up form to register.

You can learn more about the program and upcoming sessions on the STEPP page of the USPTO website.

Change in effective date of new rule requiring electronic filing for trademark submissions

USPTO has published a new rule in the Federal Register that changes the effective date of the rule requiring trademark applicants and registrants to:

• File online using our Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). 
• Provide and maintain an accurate email address for receiving correspondence from the USPTO.

The new rule changes the effective date from October 5, 2019 to December 21, 2019.

Read more about how this federal trademark law change affects you.

Trademark New login requirement

Beginning October 26, 2019, you'll need to log in to a USPTO.gov account with two-step authentication to access and file forms. In addition to the new login procedure, TEAS and TEASi sessions will time out after 30 minutes of inactivity. These measures will allow us to better track filing activity and reduce misuse of our electronic forms.

Check out the log in to TEAS and TEASi page on the USPTO website for more information about this new requirement.

Webinar: How do I prepare for the new login requirement for TEAS?

Attend our free webinar on Tuesday, October 8, from 3-4 p.m. ET to learn about changes coming to TEAS and TEASi. We'll show you how to set up your account and log in with two-step authentication, and we'll answer your questions about the change.

Register for the webinar

USPTO portable media device policy changing October 1

Beginning Tuesday, October 1, the USPTO will prohibit the use of personal removable media storage devices, including USBs, with any USPTO computer, docking station, or monitor. Such devices include:

• Portable disk drives such as USB drives or memory cards
• Digital versatile discs (DVDs)
• Read/write compact discs (CDs)
• Devices that can operate as removable media storage devices (e.g. PDAs, digital cameras, and Apple iPods).

Visitors who need to share files with USPTO employees must transmit their data via email, cloud-based, or secure-file sharing services.

For more information on our removable media policy, please visit the policy webpage or email us at USB_Questions@uspto.gov.

Extension to the request for comments on patenting artificial intelligence inventions

In late August, the USPTO published a request for comments (RFC) seeking public comment on the subject of patenting artificial intelligence inventions. We will soon publish a new notice extending the public comment period until November 8, 2019.

Written comments in reference to this RFC should be sent by email to AIPartnership@uspto.gov.

Login requirement for TEAS and TEASi coming on October 26

As part of our efforts to build a more secure trademark filing system, we are implementing changes to the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) and TEASi (international).

Changes effective on October 26:

• Access to forms: When you enter any TEAS or TEASi form, you will be prompted to log in to your USPTO.gov account with a two-step authentication. We will send you an authentication code during the login process, and you will be required to enter the code to access the form.
  
  
• TEAS time out: Your TEAS or TEASi session will time out after 30 minutes of inactivity. If you are starting a new application, review the minimum filing requirements in the TMEP and the additional TEAS Plus or TEAS RF filing requirements.

Sign up for a USPTO.gov account to make sure you are ready for this change. Learn more about these changes and the additional security enhancements we are developing.