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Collage showing the new U S P T O building during construction as well as people working in an office. Image is part of the header for the U S P T O Performance and Accountability Report for Fiscal Year 2003
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Performance and Accountability Report Fiscal Year 2003
Mangement Discussion and Analysis

Table of Contents |  Management |  Financial |  Supplemental |  Auditor |  IG |  Other

The Trademark Organization – What’s Ahead

Trademarks will continue to move aggressively in the next year to implement the objectives of the 21st Century Strategic Plan by completing the redesign of its operations to implement e-Gov as the primary means of doing business with applicants and registrants, and as the sole means for processing work inside the examining operation.

The Trademark Organization will complete a ten-year business process-reengineering plan to move Trademarks from primarily doing business with paper to doing business in an electronic environment with the implementation of electronic processing in FY 2004. Implementing an electronic file management system, in addition to our currently available electronic filing and information systems, permits:

  • Reduction in cycle times by consolidating separate processes and eliminating the potential for lost or missing papers that create additional delays and poor service;
  • The capture and creation of electronic documents that can be tracked and forwarded to appropriate employees for further action; and
  • The ability to offer a totally electronic filing and receiving process to handle applications from U.S. applicants seeking protection of their mark in foreign countries, and requests for protection of marks from foreign countries in the U.S.

As the reliance on paper disappears from internal processes, the cost for handling applications and related materials, along with the reliance on increasing numbers of employees or contractors to handle increases in filings, will be substantially reduced. Applicants will see improved quality as Trademarks moves to using data submitted or captured electronically to support examination and to publish documents and registrations. Electronic file management presents an opportunity for the USPTO to offer multiple options for filing that allow applicants to select the method of filing that best suits their business needs. The trademark user community will benefit from the introduction of the multi-track examination, included in pending fee legislation, which will provide trademark owners options for filing at lower fees than are available today.

As described in the 21st Century Strategic Plan, the USPTO plans to implement the following programs in FY 2004 to focus on improving the quality of trademark examination:

  • In-Process Review – A statistically meaningful sample of all first actions and final actions will be selected on a continuous basis and reviewed for quality and correctness. Information regarding examination errors will be used for training and other purposes to improve the quality of examination decisions.
  • Second Set of Eyes Review – Any proposed substantive refusal of an application filed under a "fast track" examination option (one of the "multiple examination options" for Trademark applicants that requires passage of pending legislation to implement) will not be issued unless approved by a management-level attorney.
  • Certification of KSAs – The USPTO will implement a program to certify and re-certify that examiners and managers possess the KSAs needed to perform their jobs. Re-certification will occur periodically throughout the employee's career at the USPTO.

The USPTO implemented the terms of the Madrid Protocol in FY 2004. The Protocol is a trademark filing treaty that currently includes 61 member countries. Under terms of the treaty, U.S. trademark owners will be able to file a single application with the USPTO in English, pay in U.S. dollars, and potentially have their mark protected in any or all of the countries that are members of the Protocol. Non-U.S. trademark owners of member countries may elect to seek an extension of protection of their international registration in the U.S. by filing through the International Bureau.

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