The International Liaison Staff (ILS) acts in an advisory capacity for
the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, and provides
international technical support at several levels.
These include:
The
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
There are
several focal points of ILS activities at WIPO:
WIPO's
Standing Committee on Information Technologies (SCIT).
ILS provides technical input and representation to SCIT
working groups, principally the Working Group on Standards
and Documentation. In the Standards and Documentation Working Group,
ILS provides US expertise and representation on the proposal and
negotiation of patent
document, data and information standards, which are of key
importance to USPTO operations. With their backgrounds in international
patent standards development, ILS personnel are uniquely qualified
for supporting USPTO goals in this technically demanding field.
International
Patent Classification (IPC). In the USPTO view, the IPC is
at a critical juncture. Its role and ability to respond to patent
offices' needs in an increasingly automated environment is tied
to the successful implementation of IPC reform, which is scheduled
to take effect on January 1, 2006. ILS provides a lead role in
development and implementation of the reformed IPC. They coordinate
related efforts to ensure that USPTO data delivery, storage and
search systems are developed or modified to take maximum advantage
of the reformed IPC.
Trilateral
Since 1983, Trilateral
cooperation in patent matters between the USPTO, EPO and
JPO, established through a US initiative, has been ongoing and
highly successful. Data standards developed by the Trilateral
partners have been jointly proposed and successfully advocated
to WIPO where they were adopted as international
standards. These standards have served as a basis for enabling
rapid growth in available, compatible electronic patent information
worldwide. Numerous Trilateral projects aimed
at enhancing information exchange and solving common problems
have been launched. ILS participates in many of these projects.
Foreign patent information must be
made available to USPTO patent examiners. ILS plays a key role in making
this happen. For more than a century, by virtue of over 100 exchange
arrangements, foreign patents in paper, microfilm and, increasingly,
electronic form, have streamed into the USPTO to make foreign patent
searching possible. ILS is responsible for the administration of these
arrangements. ILS ensures that the provisions of each arrangement are
met, both by the USPTO and the other patent office that is party to
the agreement. ILS handles inquiries, solves problems, keeps statistics,
prepares reports, and ensures that these documents are made part of
the examiner's search systems.
Within USPTO
Within the USPTO, ILS serves as the
USPTO's "resident expert" on foreign patent documentation and information
matters. ILS personnel serve as consultants in establishing requirements,
including capabilities and data content, for the USPTO's automated
foreign patent search systems. They participate actively in the development
of such systems to ensure that the examiners' foreign patent search
needs are met. ILS provides the resources when information is needed
concerning the policies and procedures of foreign patent offices, concerning
their documents, search practices, automation efforts, and foreign
patenting statistics - current and historic. |