81 FR 86323 - Notice of Roundtables and Extension of the Period for Comments on Examination Time Goals

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 230 (November 30, 2016)

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) previously announced information for roundtables in Alexandria, Virginia, and Dallas, Texas, to solicit public feedback as part of an effort to reevaluate its examination time goals. Examination time goals vary by technology and represent the average amount of time that a patent examiner is expected to spend examining a patent application in a particular technology. The Office now is providing information on the additional three roundtables that the Office will be conducting in Detroit, Michigan; Denver, Colorado; and San Jose, California. In addition, the Office is extending the written comment period to ensure that all stakeholders have sufficient opportunity to submit comments on the reevaluation of the Office's examination time goals.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 230 (Wednesday, November 30, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86323-86324]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28689]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No. PTO-P-2016-0051]


Notice of Roundtables and Extension of the Period for Comments on 
Examination Time Goals

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public roundtables and extension of the comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or 
USPTO) previously announced information for roundtables in Alexandria, 
Virginia, and Dallas, Texas, to solicit public feedback as part of an 
effort to reevaluate its examination time goals. Examination time goals 
vary by technology and represent the average amount of time that a 
patent examiner is expected to spend examining a patent application in 
a particular technology. The Office now is providing information on the 
additional three roundtables that the Office will be conducting in 
Detroit, Michigan; Denver, Colorado; and San Jose, California. In 
addition, the Office is extending the written comment period to ensure 
that all stakeholders have sufficient opportunity to submit comments on 
the reevaluation of the Office's examination time goals.

DATES: Written Comments Deadline: To be ensured of consideration, 
written comments must be received on or before January 30, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent by electronic mail addressed 
to [email protected]. Comments also may be 
submitted by postal mail addressed to: Mail Stop Comments--Patents, 
Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, 
marked to the attention of Raul Tamayo, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of 
Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for 
Patent Examination Policy.
    Although comments may be submitted by postal mail, the Office 
prefers to receive comments by electronic mail in order to facilitate 
posting on the USPTO's Internet Web site (http://www.uspto.gov). 
Electronic comments may be submitted in plain text, ADOBE[supreg] 
portable document format, or MICROSOFT WORD[supreg] format. Comments 
not submitted electronically should be submitted on paper in a format 
that facilitates digital scanning into ADOBE[supreg] portable document 
format.

[[Page 86324]]

    The comments will be available for viewing via the USPTO's Internet 
Web site (http://www.uspto.gov). The comments also will be available 
for public inspection at the Office of the Commissioner for Patents, 
currently located in Madison East, Tenth Floor, 600 Dulany Street, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22314. Because the comments will be made publicly 
available, information that the submitter does not desire to make 
public, such as an address or phone number, should not be included in 
the comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roundtable information, including 
roundtable registration information: Elizabeth Magargel, Strategic 
Planning Project Manager, Office of the Assistant Deputy Commissioner 
for Patent Operations, by telephone at (571) 270-7248.
    Written comments: Raul Tamayo, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of 
Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for 
Patent Examination Policy, by telephone at (571) 272-7728.
    Examination time goals: Daniel Sullivan, Director Technology Center 
1600, by telephone at (571) 272-0900.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a Federal Register Notice, Request for 
Comments on Examination Time Goals, 81 FR 73383 (Oct. 25, 2016), the 
Office solicited written comments on the reevaluation of the Office's 
examination time goals. In addition to accepting public feedback 
through the submission of written comments, the Office provided 
increased interactive participation through IdeaScale[supreg], a Web-
based collaboration tool that allows users to post comments and 
interact with the posted comments of others; and through roundtables in 
Alexandria, Detroit, Denver, Dallas, and San Jose. The October 25, 2016 
Federal Register Notice provided dates and other information for the 
Alexandria and Dallas roundtables. The October 25, 2016 Federal 
Register Notice indicated that dates and other information for the 
roundtables to be conducted in Detroit, Denver, and San Jose would be 
forthcoming.
    The Office now provides dates and other information for the 
roundtables to be conducted in Detroit, Denver, and San Jose.
    The San Jose roundtable has been scheduled for January 11, 2017, 
which is after the written comment deadline set forth in the October 
25, 2016 Federal Register Notice. To ensure that all roundtable 
attendees also have the opportunity to provide written comments, the 
Office hereby is extending the period for submission of written 
comments until January 30, 2017.
    Please visit http://www.uspto.gov/patent/initiatives/eta-external-outreach for more information on the reevaluation of the Office's 
examination time goals. The Web page includes: Dates and registration 
information for the roundtables; information on how to use 
IdeaScale[supreg] to comment on examination time goals; and information 
to help inform public comments responsive to the October 25, 2016 
Federal Register Notice requesting comments, such as background 
material illustrating the use of examination time goals in the context 
of individual examiner evaluation, and as an input into the model used 
to forecast pendency and hiring needs. The Office plans to use the 
public feedback it receives as an input to help ensure that the 
Office's examination time goals accurately reflect the amount of time 
needed by examiners to conduct quality examination in a manner that 
responds to stakeholders' interests.
    Detroit, Denver, and San Jose Roundtable Registration Information: 
Roundtables will be conducted in Detroit, Denver, and San Jose, as 
detailed below. Registration is required, and early registration is 
recommended because seating is limited. There is no fee to register for 
any of the roundtables, and registration will be on a first-come, 
first-served basis. Registration on the day of the roundtables will be 
permitted on a space-available basis beginning 30 minutes before each 
roundtable.
    To register, please send an email message to 
[email protected] and provide the following 
information: (1) Your name, title, and if applicable, company or 
organization, address, phone number, and email address; and (2) which 
roundtable you wish to attend. Each attendee, even if from the same 
organization, must register separately. If you need special 
accommodations, e.g., due to a disability, please inform a contact 
person identified below.
    For more information on any of the roundtables, including the 
agenda for each roundtable and webcast access instructions for the 
Alexandria roundtable, please visit http://www.uspto.gov/patent/initiatives/eta-external-outreach.

Detroit Roundtable

    Detroit Dates: Roundtable Date: The Detroit roundtable will be held 
on Thursday, December 15, 2016, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard 
Time (EST) and ending at 11:00 a.m. EST.
    Registration Deadline: Registration to attend the Detroit 
roundtable in person or via webcast is requested by December 8, 2016. 
See the ``Roundtable Registration Information'' section of this notice, 
or visit http://www.uspto.gov/patent/initiatives/eta-external-outreach, 
for additional details on how to register.
    Address of Detroit Roundtable: The Detroit roundtable will be held 
at the USPTO's Midwest Regional Office in the Stroh Building, 300 River 
Place Drive, Suite 2900, Detroit, MI, 48207.

Denver Roundtable

    Denver Dates: Roundtable Date: The Denver roundtable will be held 
on Thursday, December 15, 2016, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Mountain 
Standard Time (MST) and ending at 12:00 p.m. MST.
    Registration Deadline: Registration to attend the Denver roundtable 
is requested by December 8, 2016. See the ``Roundtable Registration 
Information'' section of this notice, or visit http://www.uspto.gov/patent/initiatives/eta-external-outreach, for additional details on how 
to register.
    Address of Denver Roundtable: The Denver roundtable will be held at 
the USPTO's Rocky Mountain Regional Office in the Byron G. Rogers 
Federal Building, 1961 Stout Street, Longs Peak Conference Room, 2nd 
Floor, Denver, CO 80296.

San Jose Roundtable

    San Jose Dates: Roundtable Date: The San Jose roundtable will be 
held on Wednesday, January 11, 2017, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Pacific 
Standard Time (PST) and ending at 3:00 p.m. PST.
    Registration Deadline: Registration to attend the San Jose 
roundtable is requested by January 4, 2017. See the ``Roundtable 
Registration Information'' section of this notice, or visit http://www.uspto.gov/patent/initiatives/eta-external-outreach, for additional 
details on how to register.
    Address of San Jose Roundtable: The San Jose roundtable will be 
held at the San Jose City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara Street, San Jose, CA 
95113.

     Dated: November 22, 2016.
Michelle K. Lee,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-28689 Filed 11-29-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P