Patent Quality Assurance Program

2

Office of Patent Quality Assurance (OPQA)

Deputy Commissioner for Patent OperationsDeputy Commissioner for Patent Operations

Office of Patent Quality AssuranceOffice of Patent Quality Assurance

Chemical DisciplinesSupervisory Quality Assurance

Specialists

Chemical DisciplinesSupervisory Quality Assurance

Specialists

Mechanical Disciplines & Designs

Supervisory Quality AssuranceSpecialists

Mechanical Disciplines & Designs

Supervisory Quality AssuranceSpecialists

Electrical DisciplinesSupervisory Quality Assurance

Specialists

Electrical DisciplinesSupervisory Quality Assurance

Specialists

Technology Center 2100Computer Architecture Software &

Information Security

Technology Center 2100Computer Architecture Software &

Information Security

Technology Center 2600Communications

Technology Center 2600Communications

Technology Center 2800Semiconductor, Electrical, Optical Systems &

Components

Technology Center 2800Semiconductor, Electrical, Optical Systems &

Components

Technology Center 1700Chemical & Materials Engineering

Technology Center 1700Chemical & Materials Engineering

Technology Center 3600Transportation, Construction,Electronic CommerceAgriculture,National Security Licensing & Review

Technology Center 3600Transportation, Construction,Electronic CommerceAgriculture,National Security Licensing & Review

Technology Center 3700Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing,

Products & Designs

Technology Center 3700Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing,

Products & Designs

Technology Center 2900Designs

Technology Center 2900Designs

Review Quality Assurance Specialists Review Quality Assurance Specialists Review Quality Assurance Specialists

Technology Center 1600Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry

Technology Center 1600Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry

Commissioner for PatentsCommissioner for Patents

3

Office of Patent Quality Assurance

Independent office reporting to the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations

Examination quality review staff is comprised of 38 Review Quality Assurance Specialists (RQAS) and 7 Supervisory Review Quality Assurance Specialists (SRQAS)— OPQA staff is organized by discipline (Chemical, Electrical and

Mechanical); RQASs review patent applications in the general subject matter area of their own examining expertise

All RQAS and SRQAS have Full Signatory Authority and substantial patent examining experience in their area of expertise; many have served as Supervisory Patent Examiners for at least several years

4

Role of the Office of Patent Quality Assurance

Quality Review— U.S. Patent Application Quality Review

• End Process Reviews• In-Process Reviews

— PCT Quality Reviews— Technical Support Staff Quality Review

Training and feedback to examining Corps

5

U.S. Patent Application Quality Review

Allowance Reviews— Initiated in 1974 when USPTO established a separate office

dedicated to reviewing patent quality— Review of 5901 randomly selected applications conducted

after the mailing of the Notice of Allowance but prior to patent grant

— Provide a Corps-wide estimate of quality within a +/- 0.5% sample error margin

— Allowance is considered to be in error if one or more claims are deemed to be unpatentable over prior art or other statutes

— Error rate is the percentage of reviewed allowed applications that contain at least one unpatentable claim

6

U.S. Patent Application Quality Review

In-Process Reviews (IPRs)— Initiated formally in 2003 as part of the USPTO 21st Century Strategic Plan

quality initiatives— Review of 4625 randomly selected applications with Office actions issued prior

to allowance or appeal— Provide a Corps-wide estimate of quality within a +/- 1.0% sample error margin— Evaluate whether the application examination has been conducted to conform

with current law and Office procedure• Assess whether rejections are proper• Assess whether examiner failed to make proper rejection• Evaluate search quality

— Application is considered to be in error if examiner made an improper rejection or failed to make a proper rejection

— Error rate is the percentage of reviewed applications that contain such an error

7

Training and Feedback Utilization of RQAS expertise through the sharing of best practices

with the Technology Centers in an effort to improve the quality of examiners' work product. — RQAS’s assist with training and quality initiatives in the Patent

Examining Corps— Analyze trends and provide reports to Technology Center

Managers— Develop and deliver training at TC, Work Group, Art Unit and

individual examiner level• Perform in-depth reviews of individual Art Units and

develop training tailored to specific needs— Perform special projects based on individual Technology

Center requirements

8

Anthony Caputa, Quality Lead 571-272-0829

Kay Kim, RQAS 571-272-0983

Gerald Leffers, RQAS 571-272-0772

Susan Loring, RQAS 571-272-0984

Johnny Railey, RQAS 571-272-0985

TC1600 Quality Program

10

Refresher Training Course

Joint project between TC1600 and OPQA Small, interactive classes 3-5 week course (39 hours) on major examining topics

— Claim interpretation and searching— Action writing— 35 U.S.C. 101; utility and double patenting— Restriction— 35 U.S.C. 112 first paragraph; enablement and written description— New matter and priority— Art rejections— Responding to arguments including Affidavit and interview practice— 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph

11

Art Unit Rolling Reviews

Joint project between TC1600 and OPQA Review the work for an individual art unit for a set period of

time Provide feedback from the reviews in an art unit meeting

— Common issues/informalities— Examples discussed in depth

SPE provides detailed feedback from the reviews to each examiner individually

12

Second Pair of Eyes Reviews

Focused internal review of allowances Benefit

— Allows a comparison for judging progress against our quality targets

— Identifies problems that can be addressed by training— Provides feedback to individual examiners on a case-by-

case basis

13

Examination Conferences

Patentability— Confer with 2 SPEs or SPE and primary prior to allowance— Mandatory for junior examiners; voluntary for primaries

Appeal— Mandatory in all cases with appeal brief filed— Confer with 2 SPEs

Pre-Appeal— Upon request— Confer with 2 SPEs

14

Examiner Resources

Mentor Meetings Brown Bag Seminars Web Resources

15

Examiner Resources-Technical Skills Enhancement

Technology Fair Biotechnology Chemistry Pharmacology Partnership Lecture

Series Examiner Education Program

16

WEPAC-Workgroup Examination Practice Advisory Committee

Examiner representatives from each Art Unit. Purpose: to identify patent problematic issues Goal: to increase consistency and efficiency throughout the TC

17

Quality Matrix

Oversight and management of Review Processes and Quality Initiatives

Consultation on practice and procedural questions Facilitate Resolution of errors alleged by OPQA Coordination of cases between the BPAI and TC1600 Current Staff

— Yvonne Eyler 571-272-0871— Chris Low 571-272-0951— Dave Nguyen 571-272-0731— Jean Witz (Appeals) 571-272-0927