An Overview of USPTO Operations

Transcription

1 An Overview of USPTO Operations David J. Kappos Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

2 The World in 2012

3 IP Battles and Technological Change

4 AIA: Protecting Innovation

5 America Invents Act (AIA) Chronological Status 4/24/2012 5

6 What we have implemented: What remains to be implemented: Implementation Status (60-Day and Under Effective Dates) Reexamination transition for threshold Tax strategies are deemed within the prior art Best mode Mode Human organism prohibition Patent term extension for drugs Virtual and false marking Venue change from DDC to EDVA for certain suits OED Statute of Limitations Fee Setting Authority (Sec. 10) Establishment of micro-entity (effective after Sec. 10 rulemaking completed) Prioritized examination 15% transition surcharge Electronic filing incentive (12-Month Effective Date) Inventor s oath/declaration Third party submission of prior art for patent application Supplemental examination Citation of prior art in a patent file Priority examination for important technologies Inter partes review Post-grant review Transitional post-grant review program for covered business method patents (18-Month Effective Date) First-to-File Derivation proceedings Repeal of Statutory Invention Registration Reserve fund 6

7 Proposed Rules in Progress (12 Month timeline) NPRMs Published as of January 25, 2012 Inventor s oath / declaration Third party submission of prior art in a patent application Citation of prior art in a patent file OED Statute of Limitations NPRMs Published in February Inter partes review Post grant review Transitional program for covered business method patents Derivation Supplemental examination 4/24/2012 7

8 Fee Setting 17 Month Timeline 4/24/2012 8

9 Track One Statistics Number of Track One Applications Examination Status Petitions Filed Days to Petition Decision % of Decided Petitions Granted Days from Petition to first Office action 3, % 43.1 First Action on Merits mailed Final Dispositions mailed Allowances Mailed Number of Track One applications 1, /24/2012 9

10 10

11 10/08 11/08 12/08 01/09 02/09 03/09 04/09 05/09 06/09 07/09 08/09 09/09 10/09 11/09 12/09 01/10 02/10 03/10 04/10 05/10 06/10 07/10 08/10 09/10 10/10 11/10 12/10 01/11 02/11 03/11 04/11 05/11 06/11 07/11 08/11 09/11 10/11 11/11 12/11 01/12 02/12 03/12 04/23/12 Applications Awaiting First Action Unexamined Patent Application Backlog FY 2009 FY 2012 (through April 23 rd, 2012) 770, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,198 as of April, 23 rd. FY 2012 Target (2013 President s Budget): 621,800 Includes CPC Production Adjustment. Target Less CPC Adjustment: 615,

12 Applications Total UPR and RCE Filings FY 2001 FY 2012 (through April 17 th ) 550, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,000 75,000 50,000 25, (Pres. Budget Fiscal Year (Projected) FY 2012 Target based on 2013 President s Budget: 533,300 (5.2% Projected Growth over FY 2011) 2012 (Actuals) 276,226 Total UPR Filings Received so far in FY FY 2012 Total URR filings through March are currently 3.6% above FY 2011; RCE filings are 2.4% above FY2011; FY 2012 Serialized filings are 4.1% above FY

13 10/09 11/09 12/09 01/10 02/10 03/10 04/10 05/10 06/10 07/10 08/10 09/10 10/10 11/10 12/10 01/11 02/11 03/11 04/11 05/11 06/11 07/11 08/11 09/11 10/11 11/11 12/11 01/12 02/12 03/12 04/23/12 RCE Applications Awaiting Next Action RCE Backlog FY 2010 FY 2012 (through April 23 rd, 2012) 90,000 RCE Backlog 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 RCE Backlog 86,915 as of April 23 rd. 13

14 10/08 11/08 12/08 01/09 02/09 03/09 04/09 05/09 06/09 07/09 08/09 09/09 10/09 11/09 12/09 01/10 02/10 03/10 04/10 05/10 06/10 07/10 08/10 09/10 10/10 11/10 12/10 01/11 02/11 03/11 04/11 05/11 06/11 07/11 08/11 09/11 10/11 11/11 12/11 01/12 02/12 03/12 Months First Action Pendency and Total Pendency FY 2009 FY 2012 (through March) 40.0 Total Pendency as of March 31 st, 2012: 34.1 months First Action Pendency as of March st, 2012: 22.6 months First Action Pendency Total Pendency Average Total Pendency FY 2012 Target: 34.7 months (Actual as of 03/31/ months) Average First Action Pendency FY 2012 Target: 22.5 months (Actual as of 03/31/ months) (Average First Action Pendency FY 2012 Stretch Target Less CPC Adjustment: 22.3 months) 14

15 10/08 11/08 12/08 01/09 02/09 03/09 04/09 05/09 06/09 07/09 08/09 09/09 10/09 11/09 12/09 01/10 02/10 03/10 04/10 05/10 06/10 07/10 08/10 09/10 10/10 11/10 12/10 01/11 02/11 03/11 04/11 05/11 06/11 07/11 08/11 09/11 10/11 11/11 12/11 01/12 02/12 03/12 Months Forward Looking First Action Pendency FY 2009 FY 2012 (through March) Forward Looking First Action Pendency as of March 31 st, 2012: 16.4 months Forward Looking Pendency represents an estimate of the average number of months it would take to complete a first Office action under current and projected workload and resource levels for an application filed at the given date. 15

16 Hours Interview Time FY 2008 FY 2012 (through March) 170, , , , , , , ,000 90,000 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 October November December January February March April May June July August September (77,328 hours as of March, 2012, compared with 65,086 hours as of March, 2011.) 16

17 Number of Applications Clearing the Oldest Patent Applications 2.0 (COPA) FY 2012 (through April 7 th, 2012) 25,000 24,000 23,000 22,000 21,000 20,000 19,000 18,000 17,000 16,000 15,000 14,000 13,000 12,000 11,000 10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 FY2012 Goal: 260,000 Cases Distribution of Corps Backlog (Tail) 103,742 Tail Cases Needed for Goal 156,258 Tail Cases Worked Projected 44K Cases Left in the Tail at EOFY ,742 Total Tail Cases Remaining Months Tail Cases Remaining Tail Cases Worked FY 2012 COPA Backlog (Tail): Applications with filing dates on or before September 1 st, 2010 (304,000 on Oct. 1, 2011) FY 2012 Goal: Reduce COPA Backlog (Tail) by 260,000 applications (24,108 applications have been disposed) 12,474 of the original COPA 1.0 cases are awaiting first action. Applications to the right of the red line include pending cases from the COPA 1.0 initiative. 17

18 10/11/ /8/ /6/2008 1/3/2009 1/31/2009 2/28/2009 3/28/2009 4/25/2009 5/23/2009 6/20/2009 7/18/2009 8/15/2009 9/12/ /10/ /7/ /5/2009 1/2/2010 1/30/2010 2/27/2010 3/27/2010 4/24/2010 5/22/2010 6/19/2010 7/17/2010 8/14/2010 9/11/ /9/ /6/ /4/2010 1/1/2011 1/29/2011 2/26/2011 3/26/2011 4/23/2011 5/21/2011 6/18/2011 7/16/2011 8/13/2011 9/10/ /8/ /5/ /3/ /31/2011 1/28/2012 2/25/2012 3/24/ Month Rolling Average Actions Per Disposal FY 2009 FY 2012 (through April 7 th, 2012) 3.0 Actions Per Disposal 2.55 as of 04/07/ Actions Per Disposal Target Sustained decrease in actions per disposal is a positive indicator issues are being resolved efficiently. 18

19 10/11/ /8/ /6/2008 1/3/2009 1/31/2009 2/28/2009 3/28/2009 4/25/2009 5/23/2009 6/20/2009 7/18/2009 8/15/2009 9/12/ /10/ /7/ /5/2009 1/2/2010 1/30/2010 2/27/2010 3/27/2010 4/24/2010 5/22/2010 6/19/2010 7/17/2010 8/14/2010 9/11/ /9/ /6/ /4/2010 1/1/2011 1/29/2011 2/26/2011 3/26/2011 4/23/2011 5/21/2011 6/18/ /11 8/13/2011 9/10/ /8/ /5/ /3/ /31/2011 1/28/2012 2/25/2012 3/24/ Month Rolling Average Allowance Rate, by Bi-Week FY 2009 FY 2012 (through April 7 th, 2012) 52.0% 51.0% 50.0% Allowance Rate as of 4/07/12: 49.8% 49.0% 48.0% 47.0% 46.0% 45.0% 44.0% 43.0% 42.0% 41.0% 40.0% Allowance Rate Sustained increase in allowance rate is a positive indicator it shows increased efficiency of the workforce. 19

20 Central Re-examination Unit (CRU) Significant decline in pendency: Increased staffing; Pilot program for waiving the statement period; Streamlined process for handling petitions and publication of certificates 150 AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS TO ISSUE /24/

21 Board of Patent Appeals & Interferences *Aggressive hiring to tackle BPAI backlog 4/24/

22 Percent Quality Measures Final Disposition, In-Process and QIR 12 Month Rolling Average FY 2009 FY 2012 (through March) 100.0% 99.0% 98.0% 97.0% 96.0% 95.0% 94.0% 93.0% 92.0% 91.0% 90.0% 89.0% 88.0% 87.0% 86.0% 85.0% 84.0% 83.0% 82.0% 81.0% 80.0% FY09Q1 FY09Q2 FY09Q3 FY09Q4 FY10Q1 FY10Q2 FY10Q3 FY10Q4 FY11Q1 FY11Q2 FY11Q3 FY11Q4 FY12- Nov FY12- Dec FY12- Jan FY12- Feb FY12- Mar Final Disposition Compliance Rate In-Process Compliance Rate Quality Index Reporting 2012 Final Disposition Compliance Rate Target Range 2012 In-Process Compliance Rate Target Range 2012 Quality Index Reporting Target Range (95.6% %). Actual as of March: 96.3% (94.6% %). Actual as of March: 96% (88.3% %). Actual as of March: 89.6% 22

23 Quality Measures

24 Green Technologies Pilot Data as of February 27 th, 2012 Average time from petition grant to final disposition: Shortest time from petition grant to final disposition: Longest time from petition grant to final disposition: 303 days 47 days 740 days Green Technologies Pilot Request Summary 10/10 11/10 12/10 01/11 02/11 03/11 04/11 05/11 06/11 07/11 08/11 09/11 10/11 11/11 12/11 1/12 02/12 Total Petitions Received ,550 Awaiting Decision (by month) Requests Granted (by month) ,500 Requests Denied (by month) Requests Dismissed (by month) , /0901/1002/1003/1004/1005/1006/1007/1008/1009/1010/1011/1012/1001/1102/1103/1104/1105/1106/1107/1108/1109/1110/1111/1112/11 1/12 02/12 Awaiting Decision Requests Granted Requests Dismissed Requests Denied Petitions Received 24

25 Global Impacts of AIA o AIA adopts international norms related to: o First-to-file o Prior user rights o Broadening the definition of prior art o Eliminating the Hilmer doctrine o Virtually eliminating the best mode requirement o US Patent Reform: o Facilitates worksharing with international patent offices o Provides renewed opportunities to harmonize the international patent system 4/24/

26 Current Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Programs Japan (JPO) Korea (KIPO) China (SIPO) European Patent Office (EPO) Germany (DPMA) Australia (IPAU) Canada (CIPO) United Kingdom (UKIPO) Denmark (DKPTO) Iceland (IPO) Norway (NIPO) Nordic Patent Institute (NPI) Finland (NBPR) Sweden (PRV) Russia (Rospatent) Israel (ILPO) Taiwan (TIPO) Hungary (HPO) Spain (SPTO) Austria (APO) Singapore (IPOS) Mexico (IMPI) 4/24/

27 PPH Requests at USPTO USPTO goal for PPH requests in calendar year 2011: 8,000 Status as of March 16: Paris-PPH 7,032 PCT-PPH 3,290 Total 10,322 PPH results compared with all cases: Grant Rate (Allowances/Total Number of Disposals) Paris-PPH PCT-PPH All Cases 89% 92% 49% Actions per Disposal /24/

28 Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) CPC Milestone Timeframe Introduction to CPC for all examiners Develop Examiner Training with EPO Contractors apply CPC symbols to PGPUB pipeline documents. January 1, 2013 USPC and CPC symbols will be searchable in EAST/WEST, while routing remains based on USPC CPC symbols will propagate from PGPUB to Grants 2013 Examiners will begin to add CPC symbols as needed on issued applications, with voluntary search capability of CPC symbols in EAST/WEST Final stage of CPC implementation /24/

29 FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 Trademark Performance: Application Filings 450, , ,000 FY 2010: 368,939 classes 300, , , , ,000 50,000 - FY 2011: 398,667 classes FY 2012 : projected 413,000 classes 4/24/

30 Trademark Performance: Quality FY 2011 Trademark Performance Measures FIRST ACTION COMPLIANCE In-process review evaluation of the statutory bases for which the Office raises issues and or refuses marks for registration based on the first office action. FINAL ACTION COMPLIANCE In-process review evaluation of the statutory bases for which the Office raises issues and or refuses marks for registration based on the examiner s approval or denial of the application. EXCELLENT OFFICE ACTION New measure for FY 2011 indicating the comprehensive quality of the first Office action search, evidence, writing and decision making. FY 2012 Targets FY 2012 Q1 Results 95.5% 94.1%* 97.0% 96.4%* 20.0% 22.1% *Preliminary Numbers 4/24/

31 New TM Performance Measure: Excellent Office Actions Criteria for Excellence* 1. Correctness in decision making 2. Quality of the search 3. Quality and relevance of evidence 4. Clarity of the written Office Action *Office action must meet all 4 criteria to be considered excellent 4/24/

32 Trademarks Next Generation 32

33 IP & Humanitarian Challenges President s Global Development Agenda Awards competition for patent owners and licensees who apply their disruptive technologies to underserved people of the world Accepting Applications Since March 1, patentsforhumanity. challenge.gov/ Judges will choose winners in four categories: medical technology food and nutrition clean technology information technology 33

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35 Patents End-to-End (PE2E) IT Overhaul for the 21 st Century Dynamic views of drawings, claims, and annotations Greater Examination & Agency Efficiency 4/24/

36 IP Awareness Assessment Tool 4/24/

37 MPEP

38 TMEP IdeaScale Links 4/24/

39 epetitions 39

40 IP Jobs Report IP-intensive industries accounted for about $5.06 trillion in value added, or 34.8% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), in Every 2 jobs in IP-intensive industries supports an additional 1 job elsewhere in the economy. In total, 40.0 million jobs, or 27.7% of all jobs, were directly or indirectly attributable to the most IP-intensive industries. The AIA is strengthening IPR to allow those industries to continue to flourish and add jobs. 40

41 Thank You