Leahy-Smith America Invents Act Implementation
MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR DAVID KAPPOS: USPTO Testifies Before Congress About AIA Implementation
On Wednesday, May 16, 2012, the House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on the USPTO’s implementation of the AIA, the first oversight hearing on this historic legislation. I testified along with six others representing various companies and intellectual property law associations. You can view a webcast of the complete hearing along with my testimony here:
http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/Hearings%202012/hear_05162012.html
http://www.uspto.gov/news/speeches/2012/kappos_AIA_testimony.jsp
I am pleased to share a brief synopsis of my testimony. The agency has completed implementation of 7 provisions in the AIA and currently is working to implement 9 additional provisions. To that end, we are reviewing more than 350 public comments, making modifications to the proposed rules in response thereto, and preparing to issue final rules no later than August 16, 2012. Additionally, the agency has completed 2 studies—an analysis of the prior user rights defense and a report on international patent protection for small businesses—and will soon be delivering a report about genetic testing to Congress in mid-June 2012. Lastly, the pro bono program has been launched in Minneapolis/St. Paul and Denver, and our first satellite office will open this summer in Detroit. I look forward to continuing opportunities to share the progress of our AIA implementation activities with Congress and our stakeholders in the coming months.
MESSAGE FROM JANET GONGOLA, PATENT REFORM COORDINATOR: Mark Your Calendars for Several AIA Implementation Activities This Summer
With summer around the corner, the agency is planning for several AIA implementation activities. To help you keep track of these activities, here is a ready reference list:
- June 15, 2012: Submission of the Genetic Testing Study Report to Congress
- June-July 2012: Federal Register publication noticing that the Patent Ombudsman Program will be made permanent
- June-July 2012: Federal Register publication of 3 Notices of Proposed Rulemaking for First-Inventor-to-File, Fee Setting, and Micro-entity provisions and 1 guidance document also for the First-Inventor-to-File provision
- July 13, 2012: Opening of the first USPTO satellite office in Detroit, Michigan
- By August 16, 2012: Federal Register publication of 7 Final Rules for the Inventor’s Oath/Declaration, Supplemental Examination, Preissuance Submissions, Citation of Patent Owner Statements, Post Grant Review, Inter Partes Review, and Covered Business Method Review provisions, the Technological Invention Definition, the Umbrella Administrative Trial Rules and 1 trial practice guide for the administrative trials
Currently, the agency is in the process of preparing and clearing the various documents mentioned in the list above. As soon as these steps are complete, we will post the documents on the micro-site and alert our AIA subscription center members via email. Also, the agency is planning for a roundtable discussion about our First-Inventor-to-File proposal in the late summer and another series of cross-country roadshows in the early fall to teach you about the final rules. Details about the roundtable and roadshows will be available soon, so please stay tuned to the micro-site for more information.
