January 09, 2012

Press Release, 12-03

USPTO to Host Seven Public “Roadshows” Across U.S. to Support America Invents Act Implementation

WASHINGTON—The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host a public series of educational “roadshows” regarding the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, allowing the public to speak with USPTO officials about the new patent law and its implementation. The programs will be held at seven venues across the U.S., beginning Friday, February 17 at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Va. and running through March 9 with stops in Boston, Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago, Dallas, Salt Lake City, and Silicon Valley.

“The USPTO hopes that the public will find the roadshows to be an ideal forum to engage with the Office about our various proposed rules implementing provisions of the America Invents Act,” said USPTO Patent Reform Coordinator Janet Gongola. “The roadshows also give the agency the opportunity to visit members of the patent community in different parts of the country as part of our ongoing effort to create a 21st century patent and trademark office.”

The schedule for the roadshows is:

Date	Venue	Location
Friday, February 17	USPTO Campus	Alexandria, VA
Friday, February 24	Sunnyvale Public Library	Sunnyvale, CA
Monday, February 27	Marriott Library, University of Utah	Salt Lake City, UT
Wednesday, February 29	Dallas Public Library	Dallas, TX
Friday, March 2	Broward County Main Library	Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Monday, March 5	Boston Public Library	Boston, MA
Wednesday, March 7	Chicago Public Library	Chicago, IL

Discussions will concentrate on the USPTO’s recently proposed rules regarding provisions of the America Invents Act. Some were initially published to the Federal Register in early January. Others will appear in late January. Full details on these proposed rules, as well as roadshow dates and venues, can be found on the USPTO’s website at www.uspto.gov/americainventsact. For non-press inquiries, contact Patent Reform Coordinator Janet Gongola at janet.gongola@uspto.gov.

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