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The Agency will achieve the vision of leading the world in intellectual
property policy by optimizing patent and trademark quality and timeliness
and improving intellectual property protection and enforcement domestically
and abroad in concert with focused management priorities that encompass:
Shift in Complexity of Filings / Sustained Emphasis on Quality
— The USPTO must address the dual challenges of rising workloads
and a shift of applications from traditional arts to more complex technologies.
To address rising workloads the USPTO will continue to hire additional
examiners and explore process changes. Quality was the most important
component of the USPTO’s 21st Century Strategic Plan. Quality
will be assured throughout the examination process with the implementation
of several quality initiatives, including an enhanced Quality Assurance
Program for end product reviews, in-process reviews, and the development
of quality measures and performance targets in conjunction with external
stakeholders.
Patent examiner Miguel Taveras demonstrates
the new dual-monitor setup, which helps patent examiners work more
efficiently. |
Electronic Workplace — The Patent and
Trademark organizations are rapidly moving to eliminate paper documents
from their processes. Electronic communications will be improved, encouraging
more applicants to do business electronically with the delivery of web-based
text and image systems. Both Patent and Trademark organizations have made
significant progress in support of the long-term goal to create an e-government
operation, and the Trademark organization now relies exclusively on trademark
data submitted or captured electronically to support examination, publish
documents, and issue registrations. However, this increased reliance on
electronic systems presents challenges in storage and maintenance for
data recovery in the event of an outage. Keeping systems robust and adaptable
to continuous improvement is imperative.
Strengthening IPR System — An effective
IPR system is important to trade because it provides confidence to businesses
that rights will be respected and that profits will be returned to IPR
holders. The tremendous ingenuity of American inventors, coupled with
a strong intellectual property system, encourages and rewards innovation
and helps propel the economic and technological growth of our nation.
The challenges include deepening the dialogue on global intellectual property
policy, facilitating technical cooperation with foreign countries, surveying
and exchanging information on the current status of IPR protection and
administrative systems, and arriving at agreement on standards of enhanced
intellectual property enforcement to include increased criminal and civil
protection, as well as tighter controls on circumventing technological
protection. Reaching bilateral and multilateral agreements will require
all sides to openly communicate and strive toward a more global convergence
of patent and trademark standards.
Sustained Funding Stream — Permanent
enactment of the fee changes made with the Consolidated Appropriations
Act 2005, is necessary to provide a stable and predictable funding stream
for the agency. In the United States, demands for products and services
have created substantial workload challenges in the processing of patents.
Permanent enactment of these fee changes and continued implementation
of strategic initiatives will address these challenges. Long-term funding
stability is essential to the creation of a predictable environment for
planning purposes.
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