Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Interview practice and its importance at the USPTO

First Action Interview Pilot Program to end on January 15, 2021

Blog by Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, and Drew Hirshfeld, Commissioner for Patents

A man conducts an interview with a woman on a computer screen.

Virtual interview between a patent attorney and a patent examiner

Whether initiated by the applicant or the examiner, interviews during patent prosecution provide an opportunity for the participants to discuss the merits of an application and gain insights that are sometimes not apparent through written exchanges. Examiners are available for telephonic or video interviews, with video interviews gaining in popularity. The USPTO’s improved information technology infrastructure is now permitting high-quality virtual interactions that far exceed past experiences.

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