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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
The World in 2012
IP Battles and Technological
Change
AIA: Protecting Innovation
http://www.uspto.gov/AmericaInventsAct
America Invents Act (AIA) Chronological Status
5 4/24/2012
Implementation Status
What we have implemented:
What remains to be implemented:
(60-Day and Under Effective Dates)
• Reexamination transition for threshold
• Tax strategies are deemed within the prior art
• Best 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
• Reserve fund
(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
6
Best Mode
Prioritized examination
Proposed Rules in Progress (12 Month timeline)
4/24/2012 7
NPRMs Published as of
January 25, 2012
NPRMs Published
in February
Inventor’s oath / declaration Inter partes review
Third party submission of prior art
in a patent application
Post grant review
Citation of prior art in a patent file Transitional program for covered
business method patents
OED Statute of Limitations Derivation
Supplemental examination
Fee Setting 17 Month Timeline
4/24/2012 8
9
Track One Statistics
Petitions
Filed
Days to
Petition
Decision
% of Decided
Petitions
Granted
Days from
Petition to
first Office
action
Number of
Track One
Applications
3,076 48.2 97% 43.1
Examination
Status
First Action
on Merits
mailed
Final
Dispositions
mailed
Allowances
Mailed
Number of Track
One applications 1,827 153 285
4/24/2012
10
11
Unexamined Patent Application Backlog
FY 2009 – FY 2012 (through April 23rd, 2012)
610,000
620,000
630,000
640,000
650,000
660,000
670,000
680,000
690,000
700,000
710,000
720,000
730,000
740,000
750,000
760,000
770,000
10/0
811
/08
12/0
801
/09
02/0
903
/09
04/0
905
/09
06/0
907
/09
08/0
909
/09
10/0
911
/09
12/0
901
/10
02/1
003
/10
04/1
005
/10
06/1
007
/10
08/1
009
/10
10/1
011
/10
12/1
001
/11
02/1
103
/11
04/1
105
/11
06/1
107
/11
08/1
109
/11
10/1
111
/11
12/1
101
/12
02/1
203
/12
04/2
3/12
Ap
plic
atio
ns
Aw
aiti
ng
Fir
st A
ctio
n
641,198 as of April, 23rd.
FY 2012 Target (2013 President’s Budget): 621,800 – Includes CPC Production Adjustment.
Target Less CPC Adjustment: 615,000.
12
0
25,000
50,000
75,000
100,000
125,000
150,000
175,000
200,000
225,000
250,000
275,000
300,000
325,000
350,000
375,000
400,000
425,000
450,000
475,000
500,000
525,000
550,000
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012(Pres. Budget
(Projected)
2012(Actuals)
Ap
plicati
on
s
Fiscal Year
Total UPR and RCE Filings
FY 2001 – FY 2012 (through April 17th)
FY 2012 Target based on 2013 President’s Budget: 533,300 (5.2% Projected Growth over FY 2011)
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 2011
276,226 Total UPR Filings
Received so far in FY 2012.
13
RCE Backlog
FY 2010 – FY 2012 (through April 23rd, 2012)
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
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
/23/1
2
RC
E A
pplic
atio
ns A
waiti
ng N
ext
Actio
n
RCE Backlog
RCE Backlog 86,915 as of April 23rd.
14
First Action Pendency and Total Pendency
FY 2009 – FY 2012 (through March)
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
18.0
20.0
22.0
24.0
26.0
28.0
30.0
32.0
34.0
36.0
38.0
40.0
10/0
8
11/0
8
12/0
8
01/0
9
02/0
9
03/0
9
04/0
9
05/0
9
06/0
9
07/0
9
08/0
9
09/0
9
10/0
9
11/0
9
12/0
9
01/1
0
02/1
0
03/1
0
04/1
0
05/1
0
06/1
0
07/1
0
08/1
0
09/1
0
10/1
0
11/1
0
12/1
0
01/1
1
02/1
1
03/1
1
04/1
1
05/1
1
06/1
1
07/1
1
08/1
1
09/1
1
10/1
1
11/1
1
12/1
1
01/1
2
02/1
2
03/1
2
Mo
nth
s
First Action Pendency Total Pendency
First Action Pendency as of March 31st, 2012: 22.6 months.
Total Pendency as of March 31st, 2012: 34.1 months.
Average Total Pendency FY 2012 Target: 34.7 months (Actual as of 03/31/12 – 34.1 months)
Average First Action Pendency FY 2012 Target: 22.5 months (Actual as of 03/31/12 – 22.6 months)
(Average First Action Pendency FY 2012 Stretch Target Less CPC Adjustment: 22.3 months)
15
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
18.0
20.0
22.0
24.0
26.0
28.0
30.0
10/0
8
11/0
8
12/0
8
01/0
9
02/0
9
03/0
9
04/0
9
05/0
9
06/0
9
07/0
9
08/0
9
09/0
9
10/0
9
11/0
9
12/0
9
01/1
0
02/1
0
03/1
0
04/1
0
05/1
0
06/1
0
07/1
0
08/1
0
09/1
0
10/1
0
11/1
0
12/1
0
01/1
1
02/1
1
03/1
1
04/1
1
05/1
1
06/1
1
07/1
1
08/1
1
09/1
1
10/1
1
11/1
1
12/1
1
01/1
2
02/1
2
03/1
2
Mo
nth
sForward Looking First Action Pendency
FY 2009 – FY 2012 (through March)
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.
Forward Looking First Action Pendency as of March 31st, 2012: 16.4 months.
16
Interview Time
FY 2008 – FY 2012 (through March)
(77,328 hours as of March, 2012, compared with 65,086 hours as of March, 2011.)
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
100,000
110,000
120,000
130,000
140,000
150,000
160,000
170,000
October November December January February March April May June July August September
Ho
urs
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
10,000
11,000
12,000
13,000
14,000
15,000
16,000
17,000
18,000
19,000
20,000
21,000
22,000
23,000
24,000
25,000
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
39
41
43
45
47
49
51
53
55
57
59
Nu
mb
er
of
Ap
pli
ca
tio
ns
Months
Distribution of Corps Backlog (Tail)
Tail Cases Remaining Tail Cases Worked
17
FY 2012 COPA Backlog (Tail): Applications with filing dates on or before September 1st, 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.
147,742
Total Tail Cases
Remaining
FY2012 Goal:
260,000 Cases
156,258
Tail Cases
Worked
103,742 Tail Cases
Needed for Goal
Clearing the Oldest Patent Applications 2.0 (COPA)
FY 2012 (through April 7th, 2012)
Projected
44K Cases
Left in the
Tail at
EOFY 12
Applications to the right of the red line include pending cases from the COPA 1.0 initiative.
18
Actions Per Disposal Target
Sustained decrease in actions per disposal is a positive indicator – issues are being resolved efficiently.
12 Month Rolling Average Actions Per Disposal
FY 2009 – FY 2012 (through April 7th, 2012)
1.8
1.9
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
3.0
10
/11
/200
8
11
/8/2
008
12
/6/2
008
1/3
/200
9
1/3
1/2
009
2/2
8/2
009
3/2
8/2
009
4/2
5/2
009
5/2
3/2
009
6/2
0/2
009
7/1
8/2
009
8/1
5/2
009
9/1
2/2
009
10
/10
/200
9
11
/7/2
009
12
/5/2
009
1/2
/201
0
1/3
0/2
010
2/2
7/2
010
3/2
7/2
010
4/2
4/2
010
5/2
2/2
010
6/1
9/2
010
7/1
7/2
010
8/1
4/2
010
9/1
1/2
010
10
/9/2
010
11
/6/2
010
12
/4/2
010
1/1
/201
1
1/2
9/2
011
2/2
6/2
011
3/2
6/2
011
4/2
3/2
011
5/2
1/2
011
6/1
8/2
011
7/1
6/2
011
8/1
3/2
011
9/1
0/2
011
10
/8/2
011
11
/5/2
011
12
/3/2
011
12
/31
/201
1
1/2
8/2
012
2/2
5/2
012
3/2
4/2
012
Actions Per Disposal 2.55 as of 04/07/12
19 Sustained increase in allowance rate is a positive indicator – it shows increased efficiency of the workforce.
12 Month Rolling Average Allowance Rate, by Bi-Week
FY 2009 – FY 2012 (through April 7th, 2012)
40.0%
41.0%
42.0%
43.0%
44.0%
45.0%
46.0%
47.0%
48.0%
49.0%
50.0%
51.0%
52.0%
10/1
1/20
08
11/8
/200
8
12/6
/200
8
1/3/
2009
1/31
/200
9
2/28
/200
9
3/28
/200
9
4/25
/200
9
5/23
/200
9
6/20
/200
9
7/18
/200
9
8/15
/200
9
9/12
/200
9
10/1
0/20
09
11/7
/200
9
12/5
/200
9
1/2/
2010
1/30
/201
0
2/27
/201
0
3/27
/201
0
4/24
/201
0
5/22
/201
0
6/19
/201
0
7/17
/201
0
8/14
/201
0
9/11
/201
0
10/9
/201
0
11/6
/201
0
12/4
/201
0
1/1/
2011
1/29
/201
1
2/26
/201
1
3/26
/201
1
4/23
/201
1
5/21
/201
1
6/18
/201
1
0716
/11
8/13
/201
1
9/10
/201
1
10/8
/201
1
11/5
/201
1
12/3
/201
1
12/3
1/20
11
1/28
/201
2
2/25
/201
2
3/24
/201
2
Allowance Rate
Allowance Rate as of 4/07/12: 49.8%
Central Re-examination Unit (CRU)
4/24/2012 20
• Significant decline in pendency: Increased staffing; Pilot program for waiving
the statement period; Streamlined process for handling petitions and
publication of certificates
0
50
100
150
2011 2012
AVERAGE NUMBER
OF DAYS TO ISSUE
Board of Patent Appeals &
Interferences
4/24/2012 21
*Aggressive
hiring to tackle
BPAI backlog
80.0%
81.0%
82.0%
83.0%
84.0%
85.0%
86.0%
87.0%
88.0%
89.0%
90.0%
91.0%
92.0%
93.0%
94.0%
95.0%
96.0%
97.0%
98.0%
99.0%
100.0%
FY09Q1 FY09Q2 FY09Q3 FY09Q4 FY10Q1 FY10Q2 FY10Q3 FY10Q4 FY11Q1 FY11Q2 FY11Q3 FY11Q4 FY12-Nov
FY12-Dec
FY12-Jan
FY12-Feb
FY12-Mar
Pe
rce
nt
Final Disposition Compliance Rate In-Process Compliance Rate Quality Index Reporting
Quality Measures
Final Disposition, In-Process and QIR
12 Month Rolling Average
FY 2009 – FY 2012 (through March)
2012 Final Disposition Compliance Rate Target Range
(95.6% - 96.7%). Actual as of March: 96.3%
2012 In-Process Compliance Rate Target Range
(94.6% - 96.0%). Actual as of March: 96%
22
2012 Quality Index Reporting Target Range
(88.3% - 91.60%). Actual as of March: 89.6%
Actual as of FY 2012 Q2 – 65.5
Quality Measures
24
0255075
100125150175200225250275300325350375400425450475500525550
12/0901/1002/1003/1004/1005/1006/1007/1008/1009/1010/1011/1012/1001/1102/1103/1104/1105/1106/1107/1108/1109/1110/1111/1112/111/1202/12
Awaiting Decision Requests Granted Requests Dismissed Requests Denied Petitions Received
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 32 166 340 287 165 548 150 276 216 162 151 145 291 202 201 202 186 5,550
Awaiting Decision (by month) 51 107 256 220 224 310 327 285 272 282 244 252 325 357 345 382 278
Requests Granted (by month) 26 81 122 222 117 263 86 237 167 116 206 111 156 128 308 134 256 3,500
Requests Denied (by month) 6 1 0 10 9 23 14 14 9 0 3 0 7 0 11 4 12 269
Requests Dismissed (by month) 5 28 69 91 35 176 33 67 53 41 65 32 55 42 65 27 22 1,503
Green Technologies Pilot
Green Technologies Pilot
Data as of February 27th, 2012
Average time from petition grant to final
disposition: 303 days
Shortest time from petition grant to final
disposition: 47 days
Longest time from petition grant to final
disposition: 740 days
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
4/24/2012 25
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)
4/24/2012 26
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
Paris-PPH PCT-PPH All Cases
Grant Rate
(Allowances/Total
Number of Disposals)
89% 92% 49%
Actions per Disposal 2.13 1.61 2.49
• PPH results compared with all cases:
4/24/2012 27
Cooperative Patent
Classification (CPC)
CPC Milestone Timeframe
Introduction to CPC for all examiners. 2012
Develop Examiner Training with EPO. 2012-2014
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.
2013
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.
2013-2014
Final stage of CPC implementation. 2015
4/24/2012 28
Trademark Performance:
Application Filings
• FY 2010: 368,939
classes
• FY 2011: 398,667
classes
• FY 2012 : projected
413,000 classes
-
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
450,000
FY
200
2
FY
200
3
FY
200
4
FY
200
5
FY
200
6
FY
200
7
FY
200
8
FY
200
9
FY
201
0
FY
201
1
FY
201
2
4/24/2012 29
Trademark Performance:
Quality
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.
95.5% 94.1%*
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.
97.0% 96.4%*
EXCELLENT OFFICE ACTION New measure for FY 2011 indicating the comprehensive
quality of the first Office action search, evidence, writing
and decision making.
20.0% 22.1%
FY 2011
Trademark Performance Measures
FY 2012
Targets
FY 2012
Q1
Results
*Preliminary Numbers
4/24/2012 30
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
4/24/2012 31
Trademarks Next Generation
32
IP & Humanitarian Challenges
33
• 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, 2012
• Judges will choose winners in
four categories:
– medical technology
– food and nutrition
– clean technology
– information technology
http://
patentsforhumanity.
challenge.gov/
Patents End-to-End (PE2E)
• IT Overhaul for the 21st Century
• Dynamic views of drawings, claims, and annotations
• Greater Examination & Agency Efficiency
4/24/2012 35
IP Awareness Assessment Tool
4/24/2012 36
MPEP
TMEP
IdeaScale Links
4/24/2012 38
eP
eti
tio
ns
http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/epetition-info.jsp
39
IP Jobs Report
40
• IP-intensive industries accounted
for about $5.06 trillion in value
added, or 34.8% of U.S. gross
domestic product (GDP), in 2010.
• 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.
Thank You
