Post on 13-Aug-2020
Patent Public Advisory Committee
Quarterly Meeting
FY17 End of Year Stats Review
Andrew Faile
Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations
November 9, 2017
Key Points of Interest
• FY17 4th Q Statistics
– First Action pendency was 16.3 months • First action pendency goal was 14.8
– Total Pendency was 24.2 months• Total pendency goal was 24.8
• Attrition rate continues to be low (4.1%)
• Filings were lower than expected
Analysis and Discussion
FY 2017 Pendency
• First action pendency has been negatively
impacted by:
– Hiring freeze
– Reduced overtime
– Additional time adjustments due to the new
classification system (CPC)
FY 2017 Filing Trends
• Serialized filings were up 0.3% – In line with both model forecast and recent trends
• RCE filings were down 3.8%– Decrease was expected
– Less rework is positive
– RCE drop causes total filings to be down 1%
• Design filings were up 6.1%– Slightly lower than expected
• Provisional filings were down 0.3%
RCE Filing TrendsTech Center FY16 Q4 FY17 Q4 Change
1600 16607 16623 .1%
1700 24368 23472 -3.7%
2100 20519 20084 -2.1%
2400 24360 23033 -5.4%
2600 23775 22380 -5.9%
2800 28653 26671 -6.9%
3600 25065 22461 -10.4%
3700 29088 28618 -1.6%
Attrition
• FY 2017 attrition rate was 4.1%
• Highest attrition rate continues to be among new examiners
– 25% for those under one year of service
• Falls to 5% and under by the third year of service
• Under 1% attrition rate for those with 10+ year of service
Variations from Model Estimates
• Lower than expected serial filings
• Lower than expected RCE filings
• Lower overtime usage
Summary of Alice Impacts
• Alice impacts were limited to the Business Methods area
• RCE filings first declined then spiked and have since slowly dropped back to pre-Alice levels
• Allowance rate dropped substantially, has since edged upward to about half the pre-Alice level
• Temporary spike in re-openings following PTAB reversals
• Decrease in serialized filings (from ~1300/month pre-Alice to ~975/month recently)
Track One
• Pendency continues to be extremely low
– Average time from Filing to Petition grant: 1.4 months
– Average time from petition grant to first action: 2.1 months
– Average time from petition grant to final disposition: 6.5 months
• Annual cap reached for first time in FY 2016
• FY17 filings slowed resulting in the cap not being reached
Patent Term Adjustment (PTA)
• On average, 56% of first actions were being completed later than 14 months from filing – Lowest compliance category
• Performance in the 4/4/4 categories has historically been fairly good and continues to be so currentlyThrough FY17 Quarter 4, the Corps averages are:
– Amendments 6.7%
– Appeal decisions 3.5%
– Issues 1.5%
• Currently approximately 17% of issues exceed 36 months total PTA pendency– Will decline further along with overall average pendency
PTAB Results
• Overall affirmance rate of 56% for FY17
– Additional 12% affirmed-in-part
– Tech center rates range from 43% (3700) to 68%
(1600)
Supporting Data
Historical PTA Results – First Actions
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
First Actions - % over 14 Months
Historical PTA Results – Amendments
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%Responses to Amendments - % Over 4 Months
Responses to Amendment - % over 4 Months
Historical PTA Results – PTAB
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%Actions after Appeal Decisions - % Over 4 Months
Actions after PTAB Decision - % over 4 Months
Historical PTA Results – Issues
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%Issues - % Over 4 Months
Issues after Payment of Issue Fee - % over 4 Months
Historical PTA Results – Total Pendency
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Issues - % over 36 Months
Unexamined Patent Application InventoryFY 2011 – FY 2017 Q4
320,000
360,000
400,000
440,000
480,000
520,000
560,000
600,000
640,000
680,000
720,000
760,000
FY11-Q
1
FY11-Q
2
FY11-Q
3
FY11-Q
4
FY12-Q
1
FY12-Q
2
FY12-Q
3
FY12-Q
4
FY13-Q
1
FY13-Q
2
FY13-Q
3
FY13-Q
4
FY14-Q
1
FY14-Q
2
FY14-Q
3
FY14-Q
4
FY15-Q
1
FY15-Q
2
FY15-Q
3
FY15-Q
4
FY16-Q
1
FY16-Q
2
FY16-Q
3
FY16-Q
4
FY17-Q
1
FY17-Q
2
FY17-Q
3
FY17-Q
4
Applic
ation
sAwa
iting F
irst Ac
tion
Quarter
526,579 Unexamined Applications as of September 30, 2017
RCE InventoryFY 2010 – FY 2017 Q4
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
10/09
05/10
12/10
07/11
02/12
09/12
04/13
11/13
06/14
01/15
08/15
03/16
01/17
RCE A
pplic
ation
s Awa
iting N
ext A
ction
Month/Year
22,473 RCE Applications as of September 30, 2017
First Action Pendency and Total PendencyFY 2011 – FY 2017 Q4
9.0
13.0
17.0
21.0
25.0
29.0
33.0
37.0FY1
1-Q4
FY12-Q
1
FY12-Q
2
FY12-Q
3
FY12-Q
4
FY13-Q
1
FY13-Q
2
FY13-Q
3
FY13-Q
4
FY14-Q
1
FY14-Q
2
FY14-Q
3
FY14-Q
4
FY15-Q
1
FY15-Q
2
FY15-Q
3
FY15-Q
4
FY16-Q
1
FY16-Q
2
FY16-Q
3
FY16-Q
4
FY17-Q
1
FY17-Q
2
FY17-Q
3
FY17-Q
4
Month
s
Year/Quarter
First Action Pendency Total Pendency
Total Pendency: 24.2 months.
First Action Pendency: 16.3 months.
Pendency from RCE Filing to Next Action
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017-Q1 2017-Q2 2017-Q3 2017-Q4
Mo
nth
s t
o N
ext A
cti
on
Fiscal Year
12-Month Average UPR Examiner Attrition Rate Less Transfers and Retirees and Overall Attrition RateFY 2001 – FY 2017 Q4
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10%
11%
12%
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016-Q1
2016-Q2
2016-Q3
2016-Q4
2017-Q1
2017-Q2
2017-Q3
2017-Q4
Percen
t
Year
Attrition Rate Less Transfers and Retirees Overall Attrition Rate
12-Month Attrition Rate Less Transfers and Retirees 3%
12-Month Overall Attrition Rate: 4.12%
Serialized and RCE Filings FY10-17
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Ap
pli
ca
tio
ns
Fiscal Year
Serialized Filings RCE Filings
Monthly Serialized Filings FY 2013 – FY 2017
0250500750
1,0001,2501,5001,7502,0002,2502,5002,7503,0003,2503,5003,7504,0004,2504,5004,7505,0005,2505,500
20
12
/10
20
12
/11
20
12
/12
20
13
/01
20
13
/02
20
13
/03
20
13
/04
20
13
/05
20
13
/06
20
13
/07
20
13
/08
20
13
/09
20
13
/10
20
13
/11
20
13
/12
20
14
/01
20
14
/02
20
14
/03
20
14
/04
20
14
/05
20
14
/06
20
14
/07
20
14
/08
20
14
/09
20
14
/10
20
14
/11
20
14
/12
20
15
/01
20
15
/02
20
15
/03
20
15
/04
20
15
/05
20
15
/06
20
15
/07
20
15
/08
20
15
/09
20
15
/10
20
15
/11
20
15
/12
20
16
/01
20
16
/02
20
16
/03
20
16
/04
20
16
/05
20
16
/06
20
16
/07
20
16
/08
20
16
/09
20
16
/10
20
16
/11
20
16
/12
20
17
/01
20
17
/02
20
17
/03
20
17
/04
20
17
/05
20
17
/06
20
17
/07
20
17
/08
20
17
/09
Ap
pli
ca
tio
ns
Year/Month
TC 2100 Amusement/Education Biologics an d Diagnostics Business Methods Medical instrument s and d iagnostics
Note: RCE filings are not included. There is some delay (up to several months) between filing and assignment of classification data, so recent months may
under-count class-based filings.
FITF Implemented
One Year Post FITF
Alice Decision
Monthly RCE Filings FY 2013 – FY 2017
0
250
500
750
1,000
1,250
1,500
1,750
2,000
2012
/10
2012
/12
2013
/02
2013
/04
2013
/06
2013
/08
2013
/10
2013
/12
2014
/02
2014
/04
2014
/06
2014
/08
2014
/10
2014
/12
2015
/02
2015
/04
2015
/06
2015
/08
2015
/10
2015
/12
2016
/02
2016
/04
2016
/06
2016
/08
2016
/10
2016
/12
2017
/02
2017
/04
2017
/06
2017
/08
Ap
pli
ca
tio
ns
Year/Month
TC 2100 Amusement/Education Biologics and Diagnostics Business Methods Medical instruments and diagnostics
FITF Implemented
One Year Post FITF
Alice Decision
Monthly Allowance Rate
0%
9%
18%
27%
36%
45%
54%
63%
72%
2012/1
0
2012/1
2
2013/0
2
2013/0
4
2013/0
6
2013/0
8
2013/1
0
2013/1
2
2014/0
2
2014/0
4
2014/0
6
2014/0
8
2014/1
0
2014/1
2
2015/0
2
2015/0
4
2015/0
6
2015/0
8
2015/1
0
2015/1
2
2016/0
2
2016/0
4
2016/0
6
2016/0
8
2016/1
0
2016/1
2
2017/0
2
2017/0
4
2017/0
6
2017/0
8
Year/Month
UPR Allowance, Including RCEs Biologics and Diagnostic Methods
Allowance Rate for Class 705 Amusement/Education
Reopening Rates Following Reversals
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
110%
2012
/06
2012
/07
2012
/08
2012
/09
2012
/10
2012
/11
2012
/12
2013
/01
2013
/02
2013
/03
2013
/04
2013
/05
2013
/06
2013
/07
2013
/08
2013
/09
2013
/10
2013
/11
2013
/12
2014
/01
2014
/02
2014
/03
2014
/04
2014
/05
2014
/06
2014
/07
2014
/08
2014
/09
2014
/10
2014
/11
2014
/12
2015
/01
2015
/02
2015
/03
2015
/04
2015
/05
2015
/06
2015
/07
2015
/08
2015
/09
2015
/10
2015
/11
2015
/12
2016
/01
2016
/02
2016
/03
2016
/04
2016
/05
2016
/06
2016
/07
2016
/08
2016
/09
2016
/10
2016
/11
2016
/12
2017
/01
2017
/02
2017
/03
2017
/04
2017
/05
2017
/06
Year and Month of Action Following Reversal
Business Methods - Reopening after Reversal
Track One Filings
Petitions
Received October November December January February March April May June July August September Total
FY 11 855 855
FY 12 390 302 285 292 371 442 457 516 436 470 517 559 5,037
FY 13 505 513 575 504 468 1,029 400 508 530 584 642 636 6,894
FY 14 715 570 732 650 629 1,028 822 803 795 796 673 911 9,124
FY 15 833 633 758 662 665 867 778 768 877 868 720 857 9,286
FY 16 729 844 1,155 766 773 868 824 776 848 679 773 976 10,011
FY 17 926 735 781 632 656 841 746 886 930 779 821 866 9,599
Design FilingsFY 2009 – FY 2017 Q4
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Ap
pli
ca
tio
ns
Fiscal Year
43,272 applications received in FY17 Q4
Design Unexamined Application InventoryFY 2011 – FY 2017 Q4
FY 2017 Q4 is 42,537
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
50,000
FY11
-Q1
FY11
-Q2
FY11
-Q3
FY11
-Q4
FY12
-Q1
FY12
-Q2
FY12
-Q3
FY12
-Q4
FY13
-Q1
FY13
-Q2
FY13
-Q3
FY13
-Q4
FY14
-Q1
FY14
-Q2
FY14
-Q3
FY14
-Q4
FY15
-Q1
FY15
-Q2
FY15
-Q3
FY15
-Q4
FY16
-Q1
FY16
-Q2
FY16
-Q3
FY16
-Q4
FY17
-Q1
FY17
-Q2
FY17
-Q3
FY17
-Q4
Appli
catio
ns A
waiti
ng Fi
rst A
ction
Year/Quarter
Design First Action Pendency and Total PendencyFY 2011 – FY 2017 Q4
5.0
9.0
13.0
17.0
21.0
FY11-Q
4
FY12-Q
1
FY12-Q
2
FY12-Q
3
FY12-Q
4
FY13-Q
1
FY13-Q
2
FY13-Q
3
FY13-Q
4
FY14-Q
1
FY14-Q
2
FY14-Q
3
FY14-Q
4
FY15-Q
1
FY15-Q
2
FY15-Q
3
FY15-Q
4
FY16-Q
1
FY16-Q
2
FY16-Q
3
FY16-Q
4
FY17 Q
1
FY17 -
Q2
FY17-Q
2
FY17-Q
3
FY17-Q
4
Month
s
Year/Quarter
Design First Action Pendency Design Total Pendency
Design Total Pendency as of September 30, 2017: 19 months.
First Action Pendency as of September 30, 2017: 13.2 months.
FY17 Appeal Results by Tech Center
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
1600 1700 2100 2400 2600 2800 3600 3700 3900 Total
% AFFIRMED FY17 Q4 BY TECH CENTER
Questions and Comments
Andrew FaileDeputy Commissioner for Patent Operations
(571) 272-8800
Andrew.Faile@USPTO.GOV