U.S. Patent Office Proposes New Review-System Structure
02 Ottobre 2009 - 11:53PM
Dow Jones News
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office unveiled proposed changes
this week designed to make patent reviews more efficient.
In the first overhaul of the patent examiners' work structure
since 1976, the proposal creates incentives for the country's 6,325
patent examiners to issue or reject applications over a shorter
timeline. Newly appointed Patent and Trademark Office Director
David Kappos initiated the changes and a task force spent the past
month hashing out details.
The patent office's backlog of over 770,000 applications
awaiting review means it can take up to five years to get a final
patent issued, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Deputy General Counsel
Horacio Gutierrez noted on the company blog.
"The cost of this workload to patent applicants and patent
offices is too high and the delays in securing patents are too long
for entrepreneurs and large enterprises alike," Gutierrez
wrote.
Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies also stand to benefit
from a streamlined patent review process.
"As with most sectors, our companies are also very interested in
timely and high quality patents," said Stephanie Fischer,
spokeswoman for the Biotechnology Industry Organization, which
represents companies including Genentech, a unit of Roche Holding
AG (RHHBY), and Pfizer, Inc. (PFE).
Under the proposal, examiners will get one additional hour to
review each application, as well as more credit for time spent on
initial reviews and less credit for work on continuing
applications. Currently both types of reviews give examiners equal
credit, which is used to measure their productivity.
Officials hope that restructuring the credit system will
encourage examiners to do a more thorough first review. Their goal
is to pinpoint what exactly can be patented, rather than
encouraging applicants to file time-consuming continuations.
Examiners would also get credit for taking their own initiative to
call applicants to discuss their patents.
Peggy Focarino, deputy commissioner for patents, said the new
incentives should speed decisions on patent applications. But she
noted that companies that want to delay a patent decision - for
instance, a pharmaceutical company waiting for U.S. Food and Drug
Administration approval - will still be allowed to do so.
Giving examiners more time and credit for the labor-intensive
initial review of the patent and its relevant history should also
boost morale and decrease turnover, said Robert Budens, president
of the Patent Office Professional Association, the union
representing the examiners.
"Examiners have been wound very tight recently," he said.
Skeptics counter that the additional hour permitted for each
application may work against reducing the office's accumulation of
pending patents.
"Extra time is contrary to reduction in the backlog," said
Richard Lazarus, a former examiner and current attorney.
The examiners' union will discuss the proposal for two weeks
before voting whether to accept the changes.
-By Kristina Peterson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6619;
kristina.peterson@dowjones.com