We will provide
a final determination regarding registrability within 13 months
of filing.
We will mail
the applicant's return postcard within 3 days of filing.
We will mail
notices published by the USPTO within established times:
Filing
Receipts -
14 days after receipt of application in the USPTO
Notices
of Publication -
30 days after file is approved for publication
Certificates
of Registration -
7 days after date of registration
Notices
of Abandonment -
45 days after date of abandonment
We will respond
to correspondence received from the applicant within established
times:
Law
Offices' Service Standards:
Response to Amendments -
35 days from mailroom receipt date
Intent
to use:
Request to Divide, Statement of Use, and Extension Request -
30 days from mailroom receipt date
Post
Registration:
Section 7, 8, and 9 Requests -
30 days from mail room receipt date
We will issue
USPTO products (Filing Receipts, Notices of Allowance, Official
Gazette, Certificates of Registration, Notices of Abandonment)
with correct information.
We will resolve
problems experienced by customers in the processing of trademark
applications or registrations within 7 days of notification.
We will provide
clear and accurate answers to questions regarding the trademark
application process through the Trademark Assistance Center.
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Measuring
Customer Satisfaction
Communicating
With Our Customers
In FY 2001, the USPTO made considerable improvements in how we communicate
with our customers. The Office continued to build upon prior accomplishments
in e-Government and customer outreach by reorganizing its web site,
hosting partnership meetings and coordinating technology fairs.
On April
25, 2001, a new design for the award winning USPTO web site was
unveiled. The new design was developed with direct input from
the public through focus groups, design sessions, and web surveys.
The new web site layout addresses our customers' requirements
and emphasizes USPTO's commitment to electronic commerce. The
USPTO web site, www.uspto.gov, continues to receive almost 5 million
requests each month. The web site's searchable databases of patents
and trademarks received approximately 353 million requests in
2001. The web site continues to service a large volume of inquiries
and requests from the public for patent and trademark general
information. In addition to web site requests, over one million
telephone calls were serviced during the last year and an additional
43,000 customers were assisted through e-mail, letters, or in
person.
Since our
first technology fair approximately two years ago, over 100 corporations,
law firms, and independent inventors have voluntarily lectured
and demonstrated their inventions and related products to patent
examiners and technical support personnel.
The technology fair presentations are designed to provide cutting
edge technical training to our employees leading to better service
for our customers and improvements in the quality of examination.
In the past year, Technology Centers 1600 (Biotechnology and Chemical-Pharmaceutical),
1700 (Chemical and Materials Engineering), 2900 (Design), 2600
(Communications), 3600 (Transportation, Construction, Agriculture,
National Security & Licensing and Review), and 3700 (Mechanical
Engineering) all held Technology Fairs. Technology Center 2600
(Communications) held its first annual technology fair. On March
1, 2001, Technology Center 2100 (Business Methods) held its Inaugural
Business Methods Partnership Meeting and hosted nearly 90 representatives
from the business and legal community, as well as trade associations
and academia. Technology Centers 1600, 2100, and 2800 held Partnership
Meetings in FY 2001. The Partnership Meetings provide a forum
for our customers to learn about recent policy changes and process
improvements as well as an opportunity for customers to voice
their concerns.
Additionally,
the USPTO hosted the Sixth Annual Independent Inventors Conference.
The conference was visited by over 180 independent inventors seeking
guidance on subjects ranging from patent application preparation,
claim construction, and trademark registration to marketing, licensing
and obtaining funds for the development of their inventions.
Also in March
2001, the USPTO published the first Official Gazette (Trademarks)
through the Trademark In-house Proofing System (TIPS). The trademark
operation sends a post script file directly to the Government
Printing Office for publication of the hard copy Official Gazette.
Furthermore, the weekly Official Gazette now appears in an "online"
PDF searchable format on the USPTO Web site, at www.uspto.gov/web/trademarks/tmog.
Customer
Surveys
We continue to use surveys to obtain information from our customers
about our key products and services. This is the sixth time we
have surveyed Patent and Trademark customers for feedback relating
to the quality of our products and services. For the fourth year,
customer satisfaction data was gathered and reported by patent
industry technology areas.
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Building
on Improved Customer Service Delivery
The USPTO
made steady improvement in achieving many of its performance goals
in 2001, while implementing several customer service initiatives
in the patent and trademark areas.
Patents
Patent application filings increased 11% above the previous year.
Over the past five years, filings have increased annually. This
trend has resulted in a 50% increase in patent application filings
since 1996.
On March
15, 2001, the Office published its first set of patent applications
under the American Inventors Protection Act, a 1999 law making
far-reaching changes to the U.S. patent system. Publication of
patent applications before a patent is granted is one of the most
fundamentally significant changes to the U.S. patent system in
over 100 years. Forty-seven applications were published in a variety
of technical fields including surgical devices, chemical processes,
and business methods. The published patent applications may be
viewed as images or text searched at http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html.
New applications are published every Thursday.
Publication
of patent applications is now required for the vast majority of
applications filed on or after November 29, 2000. Publication
occurs after expiration of an 18-month period following the earliest
effective filing date. An important procedure under the new law
allows an inventor to request early publication of an application.
By requesting voluntary publication, the applicant will enjoy
the potential benefit of provisional rights to reasonable royalties
from others who make, use, sell, or import the invention during
the period between the time the patent application is published
and the patent is granted.
Also, the
USPTO expanded its 2 million patent web database to include United
States patents back to 1790, a total of more than 6.5 million
documents. The database now offers the public an additional 1.7
terabytes of full-page images for the 4,204,863 U.S. patents issued
from 1790 through 1975. Patents issued from 1790 through 1975
are searchable by patent number and current U.S. patent classification.
Patents issued from 1976 to the most recent issue week are searchable
by full-text fields that now include current U.S. classification
data. To facilitate database searches, the USPTO's Manual of Classification
has been enhanced to help users find all patents in a particular
category of invention. The USPTO has also added two additional
database web servers and has doubled the available Internet bandwidth
to accommodate ever-increasing public use of the patent database.
In addition, the USPTO added two terabytes of additional disk
storage to the two terabytes previously allocated for Patent Images
on the Web. This is another way that the USPTO has improved access
for its customers. For more information, see the patent database
web page at http://www.uspto.gov/patft/.
During the
past year, a Root Cause Analysis Database (RCA) was implemented.
Information in the database can be used to monitor our Customer
Service Centers' performance, identify repeat problems, and help
determine Customer Service Centers' workloads. With the goal of
eliminating the most common problems, using the RCA database allows
customer service representatives to answer routine status inquiries,
analyze the types of problems encountered, discover the frequency
of their occurrence, and determine the best resolution.
The USPTO
recently installed server software that enables us to automatically
receive facsimile transmissions and route them to the appropriate
groups. No special equipment is needed by our customers to use
this system. In addition, the Customer Service Centers in each
Technology Center can answer your general application status questions.
(See Appendix C for Customer Service Center phone numbers).
The ability to transact business electronically with the USPTO
has been enhanced during the past year. The USPTO accepts assignment-related
documents via the Internet and copies of office records may be
ordered from the USPTO Web site. This year the payment options
for Internet customers have been enhanced and the electronic submission
capabilities were expanded to include patent assignment transactions
that are not associated with patent applications. (See Appendix
A for more details on this initiative).
Trademarks
The Trademark Organization made significant progress towards the
achievement of fiscal year 2001 goals. The number of new applications
filed for the registration of a trademark was less than originally
projected, resulting in reduced backlogs of unexamined work. Application
filings dropped for the first time in nine years, reversing a
pattern of continuous growth. In the previous two years, there
was a back-to-back annual growth of 27 percent. The slowdown in
filings, new programs, greater use of electronic filing and systems
have allowed the Trademark Organization to make considerable gains
in improving pendency and exceeding its first action goals.
To improve
on the identification of goods and services, and to reflect current
developments and changes in the law, extensive revisions were
made to the Trademark Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services
Manual. Enhancements include a more thorough listing of acceptable
terms within the identification of goods and services. The revised
Manual is now available electronically in a searchable format
for examiners within the Office and for our customers. It can
be accessed on the USPTO Internet web page at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/gsmanual/.
Additionally,
changes were made to the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure
(TMEP). The Office issued a new expanded edition of the TMEP.
The new edition incorporates all changes in substantive trademark
law and Office practice procedure since the 1997 edition. There
are new chapters on general information and resources available
to the public, intent-to-use applications and related documents,
application filing dates, and public inquiries. The new edition
has expanded sections discussing application filing basis, amendments
to change the filing basis, petition procedure, fee processing,
letters of protest, and many other aspects of Office practice
and procedure. The new TMEP is now available to customers on the
Office's web site at: <http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/tmep/>.
In FY 2001,
the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC) successfully reduced customer
inquiry response times, and improved resolution of customer complaints
and inquiries over prior year results. The TAC service level,
a measure indicating the percent of calls responded to within
20 seconds, improved from 23% at the beginning of the fiscal year
to 64% by fiscal year end. By adding staff, the TAC is able to
respond more quickly to simple requests and inquiries, while diverting
more complex requests to a representative trained to handle issues
pertaining to trademark processes and examination New software
was also purchased that enables customer service representatives
to record and monitor resolution of complaints and inquiries.
These combined initiatives have resulted in more efficient performance
in the TAC, and increased satisfaction for Trademark customers.
Based on
FY 2000 Customer Satisfaction Results, the Trademark Organization
took a proactive approach to improving customer service. Approximately
630 trademark employees received training through the Customer
Service Excellence Program. The program was designed to ensure
that all Trademark employees gained an awareness of customer needs
and expectations. The training sessions were developed as a refresher
for incumbent employees and as an overview for new employees.
The Trademark
Organization continued its efforts in minimizing processing time
for FY 2001. Overall pendency reduced to its lowest level since
1988. First action pendency fell from a high of 6.2 months to
2.7 months by the end of the year. This is the first time in eight
years first action pendency has been within the goal of three
months of filing. Other areas of Trademarks recorded significant
improvements in processing times also. Post Registration pendency
for processing affidavits of continued use fell from a high of
99 days at the start of the fiscal year to 9 days by the end of
the year. Pendency for renewals of registrations fell from a high
of 225 days to 81 days.
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Success
Stories
On June
25, 2001, the USPTO hosted a ceremony to recognize the receipt
of the 100,000th electronically filed trademark application under
the Trademark Electronic Application System (e-TEAS). The application
was filed by the General Electric Company. The 100,000th filing
is a significant milestone in creation of an e-Government operation
and confirmation of customer acceptance for filing trademark applications.
Furthermore,
the USPTO received recognition for many of its customer service
initiatives. In August 2001, the USPTO received the Commuter Connections
Employer Recognition Award for its Trademark Work@Home telecommuting
program. The award, sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council
of Governments recognized the Trademark Organization as one of
four employers who have created a workplace where telecommuting
produces a "smarter way to work."
In March
2001, the e-TEAS program was awarded the Finalist prize in the
Government category for the 2001 RIT/USA TODAY Quality Cup Competition,
recognizing teams who have made significant contributions to the
improvement of quality in their organization. The competition
was conducted as a cooperative academic-industry effort between
Rochester Institute of Technology's College of Business and USA
TODAY.
Also this
year, the USPTO web site (www.uspto.gov) was named to Entrepreneur
Magazine's Third Annual "Top 100 Best Sites." USPTO's
web site was one of only seven government sites recognized. The
sites were recognized for the money and time saving they offer
to those who own their own businesses. The USPTO's award-winning
site was featured in the April 2001 issue of Entreprenuer Magazine.
In October
2000, judges for the 2000 Government Technology Leadership Awards
selected TEAS as one of its winners. For the last eight years,
the Government Technology Leadership Awards program has celebrated
successful U.S. government initiatives. By honoring meritorious
projects and the teams responsible for them, the awards have sought
to encourage innovation. The awards salute projects, large and
small, that have directly aided the missions of their organizations
by boosting efficiency and effectiveness, lowering costs, and/or
improving service to the public through original uses of technology.
In addition,
feedback from our customer surveys and 2001 Independent Inventor's
Conference includes the following:
Comments
from Customer Survey:
"I'm satisfied by the work my invention examiner did, and
I want to thank him for his patience and professional performance."
"I am
a novice at the patent process, and was particularly pleased with
the helpful advice I received from the patent examiner. I am sure
I would not have received a patent without his help."
"My
examiner had a very deep understanding of the specific area of
database technology pertaining to my invention, and was able to
understand and comment knowledgeably about the specifications
and claims."
"Both
"help lines" and examiners have been quite responsive
and cooperative. Issues have been handled courteously and quickly
by telephone."
"Your
website is excellent, one of the best websites on the internet."
"I have
been extremely pleased with both PRINTEAS and E-TEAS. I think
they have made the process much simpler and reduced the likelihood
of me or my paralegal making a mistake."
Comments
made by attendees of the 6th Annual Independent Inventor's Conference.
"Outstanding conference presented by professional, dedicated
PTO employees with first hand knowledge of the subject. I really
appreciated the opportunity to attend and learn. I feel it has
saved me money and increased my chances for success in my patent
application."
"In
academia and industry, I have attended many conferences. I can't
recall having attended such an interesting, well-serviced conference.
I'm really glad I came."
"This
conference is a superb idea. It is extremely educational and helpful,
especially for the new inventor. Also very inspiring."
"I have
learned much about how to prepare and present a patent application.
I have learned how the PTO operates and have had the good fortune
to meet several PTO employees that have treated my fellow inventors
and me extremely well."
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Appendix
A
Transitioning
from Paper-Based Processing to e-Government
The concept of electronic filing in the USPTO originated approximately
20 years ago. This idea was believed to have the greatest potential
for reducing or eliminating numerous processing activities in
the production process, thereby improving customer service, quality,
and timeliness. In the early 1980s, former commissioner of the
USPTO, Gerald J. Mossinghoff, recognized the need for change and
proposed a goal for the USPTO to become a paperless office. Since
then, the USPTO has been committed to this proposal, and is on
a steady course to transition from paper-based processing to electronic-based
processing and examination.
During the
fiscal year, several forums to promote electronic filing and communication
were jointly sponsored by law firms, associations, and universities
in the metropolitan area and major cities in cooperation with
USPTO. The forums provided a unique collaboration between the
USPTO, senior law firms, and practitioners to share information
and ideas with the goal of ensuring that business needs are met
as the USPTO continues its transition to a new e-commerce environment.
The emergence
of the Internet and the acceptance of the World Wide Web as a
method of business communication gave the USPTO the proper tools
to integrate its business practices into e-Government. Anyone
with Internet access can file a patent or trademark application
online through USPTO's EFS or E-TEAS at www.uspto.gov.
E-TEAS
provides:
1. A dramatic
increase in the speed with which applications can be filed.
2. The ability to file virtually 24 hours a day, seven days
a week; permitting filing on days the USPTO is officially closed.
3. Online help screens and an automated validation function
to ensure submission of applications that meet USPTO requirements.
4. Filing receipt and serial number for an initial application
via e-mail in a very short turnaround time.
5. More accurate filing receipt information because data is
transferred directly to USPTO databases.
The EFS:
1. Supports
filing 24 hours a day, and seven days a week.
2. Provides immediate electronic Acknowledgement Receipt. There
is no delay while waiting for a Postcard. Also, you can use
application number for same day paper filings.
3. Provides expanded client service.
Also accessible from the USPTO web-site, are the: Patent Electronic
Business Center, Patent Application Information Retrieval Systems,
Trademark Electronic Business Center, Trademark Electronic Search
System, Trademark Application Registration Retrieval, Trademark
Electronic Application System, and Trademark Information Capture
and Retrieval System. Significant improvements to the EFS, E-TEAS,
and other USPTO e-Government systems are discussed below.
Patent
Electronic Business Center (EBC)
The Electronic Business Center is the patents e-Commerce home
for the USPTO. This site provides links to the systems that will
enable you to do business with the USPTO electronically, including:
Ÿ Submitting a patent application.
Ÿ Checking the status of a patent application.
Ÿ Registering to conduct business with the USPTO securely.
You can visit
the EBC site at (www.uspto.gov/ebc/index.html).
Patent
Electronic Filing System (EFS)
The Electronic Filing System (EFS) was introduced to the public
in FY 2001. Now, customers can file an application for a new invention
with the USPTO using the Internet. Several types of submissions
can be filed with EFS.
Also, the
USPTO's Electronic Business Center web site supports EFS because
it provides customers with EFS software information, and directions
on how to write and file applications using the Internet. The
EFS software ePAVE, assembles all application components, calculates
fees, validates application content, compresses, encrypts, and
transmits the filing to USPTO.
The USPTO
is increasing its use of electronic commerce in order to provide
faster and more reliable service to its customers. Filing your
application electronically provides immediate time savings and
convenience.
Patent
Application Information Retrieval System (PAIR)
The Patent Application Information Retrieval system provides secure
access for our customers (applicants or designated agents and
attorneys) who want to view current patent application status
and paper entry information electronically. This system provides
world-class service to USPTO customers 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week, via the World Wide Web.
Trademark
Electronic Business Center (TEBC)
The Trademark Electronic Business Center is a site that allows
customers to locate all the different electronic search systems
and methods of doing Trademark business. It is your one-stop source
for all on-line Trademark searching, filing and follow-up. The
TEBC showcases several Trademark Electronic Business Systems,
each of which is supported by their own set of HELP screens and
contact points. You can visit the TEBC site at: http://www.uspto.gov/web/menu/tmebc/index.html
Trademark
Electronic Search System (TESS)
The Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) supports the USPTO's
approach to e-Government by providing greater access and information
resources to those who need it. TESS allows anyone the ability
to search and retrieve over 3 million pending, registered, abandoned,
cancelled or expired trademark records for free via the Internet.
TESS, the database and search systems used by USPTO's trademark
examining attorneys for making decisions regarding the registrability
of a mark, is now available to the public. Access to this database
is leading to increased electronic communications with trademark
customers, and is a critical component for achieving the goal
of e-Government. TESS is available at: http://www.uspto.gov/web/menu/tmebc/index.html
Trademark
Application Registration Retrieval (TARR)
Trademark Application Registration Retrieval (TARR) is a web-based
system providing information on pending and registered trademarks
for free to the public. TARR represents the USPTO's continuing
commitment to maximize implementation of
e-Government initiatives. USPTO customers can access the Internet,
as well as phone status and help lines to monitor current status
of their filings.
Also, the
TTAB Board Information System Index (BISX) was added as a web
site resource to search proceedings of the Trademark Trial and
Appeal Board. This system supplements status information available
from TARR. Both TARR and BISX are available from http://www.uspto.gov/web/menu/tmebc/index.html.
Trademark
Electronic Application System (E-TEAS)
The Trademark Organization continued to build on improving the
content and offerings available through its web-based site that
has driven much of its e-Government success in increasing use
of electronic filing. Since its debut three years ago, the Trademark
Electronic Application System, e-TEAS, has generated an unprecedented
level of filings. In its first year of operation, e-TEAS received
more than 20,600 application filings. In FY00, the second year
of operation, application filings through e-TEAS more than doubled
to over 44,100 filings. In FY01, USPTO received nearly 58,000
applications, including more than 61,000 classes for the registration
of a trademark electronically. To foster continuous improvement
of this important e-Government initiative, additional trademark
forms were added in FY01. The impact of making more forms as well
as trademark related information available via the Internet improves
our ability to provide useful information for all our customers.
The number
of electronically filed applications submitted through e-TEAS
accounted for 24 percent of all new applications filed; short
of our goal to achieve 30 percent of our filings electronically.
While pro se applicants and corporations were initially the primary
users of e-TEAS, by the end of the fiscal year, applications submitted
by attorneys had risen to nearly 50 percent.
The ability
to accept applications electronically is a critical success factor
to meet the Trademark goal for conducting nearly all business
electronically by FY03, as well as providing access to those who
otherwise would not have filed for trademark registration. Over
the past year, the Trademark Organization continued to take steps
to make e-TEAS the cornerstone of the overall transformation of
the Trademark Organization into an effective e-Government operation.
We focused on two specific strategies: first, to increase the
number of applications filed electronically; and second, to increase
the number of applicants adopting electronic filing as their preferred
business choice. Of our largest customers, 521 used e-TEAS as
the exclusive method for filing applications in FY01, filing 11
percent of the total number that were received electronically.
The USPTO
has continued to support our customer needs and promote the benefits
of using E-TEAS to increase use of electronic filing. Additional
enhancements were made throughout the fiscal year. The most significant
being the introduction of new simplified methods for obtaining
signatures from clients¾one allowing for direct e-mail
of a completed form for signature. The other, a method whereby
a completed form could be mailed or faxed for a conventional pen-and-ink
signature; followed by creation of an image file of the signed
declaration for attachment to the electronic form. The Trademark
Organization is committed to enhancing e-TEAS as well as encouraging
greater acceptance and use for the benefit of all those who use
trademark information.
Trademark
Information Capture and Retrieval System(TICRS)
The Trademark Information Capture and Retrieval System is the
first step towards creating a fully electronic file and eventually
an electronic file management system. All incoming applications
filed since FY99, whether filed electronically or on paper, are
captured and stored electronically through TICRS. Electronic images
of applications have replaced the need for generating paper copies
or for microfilming new applications. In the past year, TICRS
was made available to all Trademark employees at their desktop
computers, as well as to search terminals in our public search
library. Examiners are now able to conduct their initial examination
of the application from the TICRS image. In FY02 we will implement
the process of having all incoming and outgoing correspondence
on TICRS. At some point in the future, TICRS will also be available
from our web site, accessible by everyone from any location.
E-Commerce
Law Office
The Trademark Organization dedicated a third law office to the
growing number of Trademark law offices whose work is dedicated
solely to the processing of applications received electronically.
Through the Internet, Trademark customers are opting in increasing
numbers to file applications for registration of a trademark electronically.
Electronic filing provides Trademark customers with the capability
to submit their applications electronically while enabling the
Organization to process increasing numbers of applications with
greater efficiency. In keeping with the increased level of applications
filed electronically-a level that increased from 14% in FY00 to
more than 24% in FY01-we expanded the number of law offices dedicated
to the receipt, processing and examination of electronically filed
applications.
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Appendix
B
Overview
of Search Quality Improvements at the USPTO
Each Spring,
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office mails out customer satisfaction
surveys to numerous applicants who received a patent grant during
the prior year. The results of this annual survey drives quality
improvement initiatives for the forthcoming year. The findings
provide a benchmark for how the USPTO is serving its customers
on a number of specific issues.
As the results
of the survey indicated, there is an opportunity to improve customer
satisfaction with search. In late FY99, the USPTO began implementing
focus sessions by Technology Center (TC).
![[Skip standard page navigations] United States Patent and Trademark Office](http://web.archive.org/web/20020808073834im_/http://www.uspto.gov/images/uspatop.gif){kind=small}
Guiding
the USPTO towards performance excellence
