Performance Goals and Results
USPTO Strategic Plan
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Under Secretary Rogan confers with Subcommittee
Chairman Lamar Smith prior to testifying before the House Judiciary
Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property. |
The Government Performance and Results Act
(GPRA) requires that agencies plan and measure the performance of their
programs. In carrying out GPRA, the USPTO prepares a Strategic Plan, an
Annual Performance Plan, and an Annual Performance Report. The USPTO began
FY 2003 guided by the Strategic Plan that was developed in FY 1994 and
updated in FY 1999, which includes the period FY 1999 through 2004. While
the mission, goals, and strategies have served us well, the environment
in which the IP system operates worldwide has changed dramatically. There
are an estimated 11.9 million pending patent applications in the worlds
examination pipeline. Technology has become increasingly complex, and
customer demands for higher quality products and services have escalated.
This dynamic, along with Congressional concerns about the USPTOs
ability to continue to operate under a traditional business model, led
to the development of the 21st Century Strategic Plan. To deal
with these concerns, the USPTO developed a response to the environmental
challenges facing the USPTO and to address the issues raised by the Congress
and our stakeholders. The 21st Century Strategic Plan is a far-reaching
and aggressive plan designed to transform the USPTO into an organization
that is responsive to the global economy. After implementation of the
plan, market forces will drive our business model, geography and time
will be irrelevant when doing business with the USPTO, products and services
will be tailored to customer needs, and examination will be our core expertise.
The plan is centered around three long-term cross-cutting strategic goals:
- Agility Address the 21st Century
economy by becoming a more agile organization. We will create a flexible
organization whose leadership and work processes can handle the increasing
expectations of our markets, the growing complexity and volume of our
work, and the globalization that characterizes the 21st Century economy.
We will work with our partners, both bi-laterally and multi-laterally,
to create a stronger, better-coordinated, and more streamlined framework
for protecting IP around the world. We will transform the USPTO workplace
by radically reducing labor-intensive paper processing.
- Capability Enhance quality through
workforce and process improvements. We will make patent and trademark
quality our highest priority by emphasizing quality in every component
of the plan. Through timely issuance of high-quality patents and trademarks,
we will respond to market forces by promoting advances in technology,
expanding business opportunities, and creating jobs.
- Productivity Accelerate processing
times through focused examination. We will reduce patent and trademark
pendency, substantially cut the size of our backlog of work, and recover
our investments in people, processes, and technology.
The 21st Century Strategic Plan was made public in June 2002.
At the same time, the USPTO proposed a reallocation of FY 2003 resources
to fund the 21st Century Strategic Plan and the USPTO put forth
proposed legislation to restructure the USPTOs fee schedule to generate
additional fee income needed to make critical investments in support of
the 21st Century Strategic Plan. Although the USPTO was applauded
for putting forth an innovative and comprehensive plan, a number of key
components - many related to the USPTOs fee structure - generated
controversy. The USPTO has listened to stakeholders and applicants and
is consulting with the Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees
to identify alternative actions that would be amenable to applicants and
the public while addressing the challenges the USPTO is facing in the
21st century.
In FY 2003, the USPTO continued adopting the goals and objectives put
forth in the plan, to the extent they were consistent with Congressional
intent and supported by our stakeholders and applicants. The 21st
Century Strategic Plan was reissued in February 2003 and received
support from organizations throughout the patent community. The 21st
Century Strategic Plan can be found on the USPTO web site: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/strat21/index.htm
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Under Secretary Rogan welcomes a group of newly
hired patent examiners, part of the 308 examiners hired in FY 2003. |
Performance Data Verification and Validation
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Jo-Anne Barnard, Chief Financial
Officer and Chief Administrative Officer, Nick Godici, Commissioner
of Patents, and Michelle Picard, Director, Office of Finance, (seated
left to right) pose with members of the Annual Performance Review
team. The team received the Certificate of Excellence in Accountability
Reporting Award, from the Association of Government Accountants
for the USPTO Fiscal Year 2002 Performance and Accountability Report.
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In accordance with GPRA requirements, the
USPTO is committed to making certain that performance information reported
is reliable, accurate, and consistent. To ensure the highest quality data,
the USPTO has developed a strategy to validate and verify the quality
of the USPTOs performance information. The USPTO has undertaken
the following:
- Quality reviews USPTO conducts ongoing
reviews on the quality of patent and trademark examination. The focus
of the review for patent applications is threefold: (1) identify patentability
errors, (2) assess adequacy of the field of search and proper classification,
and (3) assess proper examination practice and procedures. For trademark
applications, the review includes four areas: (1) substantive statutory
criteria for registrability, (2) search for confusingly similar marks,
(3) proper examination practice and procedure, and (4) proper application
of judicial precedents. The information from these reviews helps our
business units identify necessary training with the goal of enhancing
overall product quality and improving the consistency of examination.
Analysis of review data is reported to patent and trademark management.
These reports serve as a tool for educating examiners and examining
attorneys. In addition to reporting specific errors, the analysis identifies
recurring problems and trends.
- Certification The Patent and Trademark
Organizations are responsible for providing performance data. The USPTO
holds program managers accountable for ensuring data accuracy, and that
the performance measurement source is complete and reliable.
The OIG also contributes to the USPTOs efforts to assure audit
and evaluation coordination and coverage of USPTO goals. The OIG conducted
the following types of audits and evaluations:
- Program evaluations Program evaluations
are cyclical in nature. While no program evaluations were completed
in FY 2003, one was completed in FY 2002. The OIG reviewed the USPTOs
performance measures included in the Commerces Annual Performance
Plan (Minor Improvements Needed in Reporting Performance Results,
FSD-14429/March 2002). The purpose of the review was to validate
the measures and the data collection tools and methods. The results
of the audit showed that management controls were in place and operating
effectively regarding the collection, validation, and reporting of performance
measures. In addition, the report stated that the USPTO was committed
to developing and producing quality performance measures. Several minor
recommendations were reported and have subsequently been implemented
by the USPTO in FY 2003. This report can be found at: www.oig.doc.gov/reports/2002-3/20023-14429.01.pdf.
- Financial statement audit During
the FY 2003 financial statement audit, various tests and reviews of
the primary accounting system and internal controls were conducted as
required by the Chief Financial Officers' Act. In their FY 2003 report,
the auditors reported no material weaknesses in internal controls or
material compliance violations. The auditors issued an unqualified opinion
on USPTO's FY 2003 financial statements.
USPTO Performance Goals
The USPTO Performance Plan, which is included
in our annual budget submission, has three core goals and ten performance
measures for FY 2003. Information on the goals and measures is contained
in the next two sections: Patent Performance and Trademark Performance.
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Deputy Under Secretary Dudas swears in Rick D. Nydegger, the new Chairman of the Patent Public Advisory Committee. |
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