On Friday, the USPTO released its "STRATEGIC PLAN - 2007-2012" for public review and comment. The plan includes efforts to promote quality and efficient patent and trademark examinations, maintaining a rate of new examiner hires, and a focus on international IP protection. The first goal is to "Optimize Patent Quality and Timeliness," discussing new patent examiner hiring (978 hired in 2005, 1,200 planned for this year, and at least 1,000 over the next five years), examiner training, the need for an alternative patent examination system (noting that "[t]he current patent examination system in the United States is basically a one-size fits all process"), examination quality, awareness of IP rights, and the use of information technology in several areas of the examination process. These goals led to specific initiatives and planned accomplishments regarding high quality traditional patent examination, developing ("Patent suite of products") to improve quality and timeliness of patent examination, and improving and integrating existing electronic systems to assist with the examination process. The second goal ("Optimize Trademark Quality and Timeliness"), several objectives are discussed, including a three-month first action pendency (and reducing disposal pendency, exclusive of suspended and inter partes cases), improving examination quality by providing the examiners with quality search tools, providing electronic file management and workflow by the end of the third year of the plan, and developing interactive and online filing by the fourth year of the plan. The third goal ("Improve Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement Domestically and Abroad") discusses the objectives of efforts and initiatives to strengthen IP protection and curb IP theft, focus on the development of unified standards for international IP practice, providing policy guidance on US IP issues, and fostering innovation and competitiveness by educating the international public and providing quality domestic customer service. USPTO management goals and objectives are also discussed, including functioning as a business partner to the IP community, improving operations (financial, HR, and IT) within the USPTO, and simplifying electronic access to USPTO information and data. A public forum on this strategic plan will be held on September 26th at the USPTO.

USPTO Strategic Plan Press Release: LINK
USPTO 2007-2012 Strategic Plan Website: LINK
Draft 6 of the 2007-2012 Strategic Plan: LINK
August 24, 2006 Federal Register Excerpt: LINK

It was announced on Wednesday the USPTO and the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO) have agreed to work on reclassification of issued U.S. patents and published applications in attempt to assist examiners with their review of pending applications. The USPTO, the European Patent Office (EPO), and the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) have worked on a series of new classifications in recognition of several new complex technologies being presented for patent. According to Commissioner for Patents John Doll, "[a]s the amount of patent-related information has skyrocketed in recent years, it is critical that patent offices around the world keep pace in order to ensure that the most relevant information is found quickly and easily by patent examiners." Director General of the DKPTO, Jesper Kongstad, stated that "[w]e are looking forward to combining our expertise with the expertise of the USPTO, and we hope that this will be the first of many projects in cooperation with our international colleagues," further noting that "[w]e have the competence and the available resources to get the job done." The USPTO currently uses utility class numbers 002 through 987 (a total of 436 utility classes used), 33 design classes, and 1 plant class.

USPTO News Release: LINK
Danish Patent and Trademark Office News Releases: LINK
USPTO Classifications Website: LINK

According to a recent Rocky Mountain News article, the USTPO is considering opening regional patent office in Denver, Colorado. Recognizing a number of benefits to Denver, including intellectual capital and quality of life, a regional office may become a reality in the near future given the USPTO’s goal of hiring 1,000 examiners each year (as part of the 2003 Business Plan but revised in the 21st Century Strategic Plan). Jon Dudas, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, commented on the salaries paid to examiners with engineering degrees (in the six-figure range), but noted that the decision to open a regional patent office in Denver “is probably not going to happen for a while.” Specific details have not been publicly announced about the potential new office, but it is known that the Governor of Colorado, Bill Owens, specifically “pitched” the idea to a number of officials from the USPTO a few months ago.

Rocky Mountain News Article: LINK
Website for Gov. Bill Owens: LINK
USPTO Careers Website: LINK
USPTO 21st Century Strategic Plan Webpage: LINK

In January of this year, Hinerwadel’s Inc. sued Isadore A. Rapasadi & Sons Inc. (“Rapasadi”) and General Bag Corp. (“General”), alleging that General sold unauthorized potato bags to Rapasadi with Hinerwadel’s trademark on them, and Rapasadi filled those bags with its own potatoes for sale to the public. Hinerwadel’s Grove, in business since 1914 and known for its clambakes and salt potatoes, accused General of manufacturing counterfeit salt potato bags, and alleged that the potatoes that Rapasadi used to fill the bags were inferior and harmed Hinerwadel’s reputation. Hinerwadel’s and Rapasadi settled their dispute on August 14th, and although the general terms are not disclosed, Rapasadi is only permitted to sell Hinerwadel’s salt potatoes until December 31, 2007, or earlier if Hinerwadel’s is unable to meet Rapasadi’s demands for salt potatoes. According to The Central New York Business Journal, “[t]he case began when an anonymous caller informed Hinerwadel’s of possible trademark infringement, according to court documents. The caller said Rapasadi & Sons had been selling its own unauthorized “Hinerwadel’s” salt potatoes since 2004 and indicated the company had a stash of several pallets of counterfeit bags bearing the Hinerwadel’s trademark.” Hinerwadel’s has one registered trademark with the USPTO, namely Registration No. 1,193,451, a word mark for Fresh New Potatoes (IC 031/US 046).

The Central New York Business Journal News Article: LINK
Isadore A. Rapasadi & Sons Inc. Website: LINK
U.S. Trademark No. 1,193,451: LINK

It was recently announced that Aspect Software, Inc., a company providing software solutions to connect people with customer service providers, was awarded a patent regarding dynamic help capabilities. U.S. Patent No. 7,080,321, entitled “Dynamic help option for internet customers,” issued on July 18, 2006 and includes 31 method claims “for providing assistance to a customer at a web site.” The first claim comprises the steps of “receiving a request for a web page from a customer; sending said web page without a HELP option to said customer; automatically determining if said customer should be provided assistance; determining an estimated time before a customer service representative will be available, and if said estimated time exceeds a predetermined time then delaying a step of sending said HELP option to said customer until said estimated time does not exceed said predetermined time then sending said HELP option to said customer; and wherein said predetermined time is determined based upon measurements of the time between the time that a HELP option is sent to a previous customer and the time that said previous customer responds to said HELP option.” The patent states that “[m]any web sites have a "HELP" button, which allows the customer to "click on" or press that button in order to contact a customer service representative ("CSR") of the company,” but also notes that “the customer must then wait for a reply from the CSR, which can take minutes, hours, or days.” Instead of requiring an internet user to click on a HELP button, this invention also “provides for automatically connecting a customer to a CSR when a CSR is available or is predicted to be available within an acceptable time.”

U.S. Patent No. 7,080,321: LINK
Aspect Software Press Release: LINK
Aspect Software Website: LINK
FY Times News Article: LINK

It was announced in Thursday’s Federal Register that the USPTO and the United States Copyright Office (USCO) will be holding a public roundtable discussion regarding the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) effort concerning the proposed Treaty on the Protection of the Rights of Broadcasting Organizations. The Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) at WIPO has been addressing issues regarding the intellectual property of broadcast organizations for several years now, noting that broadcasters currently have some protections under the 1961 Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations and the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The proposed Treaty considers information gathered from broadcasters, netcasters, internet service providers, telecommunications companies, and other related organizations to address how changes in technology have affected the field of broadcasting. This roundtable discussion, to be held at the Atrium Conference Room at the USPTO, will begin on September 5th at 1PM and will last for two hours. Participation information is included in the Federal Register link below.

Federal Register Excerpt: LINK
Revised Draft Basic Proposal for the Treaty (July 31, 2006 version):
LINK
WIPO “Copyright and Related Rights” Website: LINK

It was announced that as of August 16th, Malaysia has become a member country of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). If an applicant now files an international patent application in any country (besides Malaysia) to be processed through the PCT, the applicant may nationalize the application in Malaysia within thirty (30) months of the earliest priority date of the international application. An applicant may now use the PCT/RO/101 form, filed in triplicate, to apply for patent in Malaysia along with the prior 130 signatory countries. According to Datuk Shafie Apda, Malaysia’s Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, “All you need to do is tick which countries you want to register your patent in. There is no need to spend money to fly to another country to register the patent. This will also expedite the [patent] process.” The website of the Malaysian IP office (the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia, MyIPO) now includes links to PCT reference information as well as a PCT frequently asked questions (FAQ) web page.

Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia News Release: LINK
Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) PCT FAQ Website: LINK
World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) “Services for PCT Applicants” Website: LINK
PCT/RO/101 (PCT REQUEST) Form: LINK

In a U.S. patent application made public last week, an invention by Amazon.com regarding user-defined “gift clusters” discloses several methods for creating and ordering such gift clusters. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0178946, entitled “Providing gift clustering functionality to assist a user in ordering multiple items for a recipient,” was filed on Dec 9, 2005 and includes 37 claims for methods and computer-readable media regarding the gift cluster technology. The first method claim of the application claims a “method for ordering multiple items defined by a user as a group using a client system” comprising “displaying information identifying multiple items previously defined by a user to be a group, and displaying an indication of an action that is to be performed to order the user-defined group of multiple items; and in response to the indicated action being performed, sending to a server computer a request to order the user-defined group of multiple items.” In one embodiment of the invention, a user may name the particular gift cluster, and may choose to include information including but not limited to the recipients, education and income levels, genders, ages, races and ethnicities, religions, occupations, and sexual orientations. According to the patent, once “one [or] more gift clusters have been created, such gift[] clusters can be used for purchasing multiple items for a recipient as a group.” According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Amazon.com does not appear to have any immediate plans to implement this patent-pending technology. This patent application is a continuation of an earlier application filed in 2000 and issued as U.S. Patent No. 6,999,941 earlier this year.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer News Article: LINK
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0178946: LINK
U.S. Patent No. 6,999,941: LINK
CNET Media Blog Article: LINK

CNS, Inc., the manufacturer of Breathe Right® nasal strips and FiberChoice® daily fiber supplements, announced Monday that the USPTO completed its re-examination on one of the company’s patents regarding the Breathe Right® nasal strip. U.S. Patent No. 6,318,362, entitled “Nasal dilator,” was issued on November 20, 2001, and includes 34 claims on the company’s nasal strip technology. The re-examination, initiated at the request of Silver Eagle Labs, Inc., resulted in no modifications to any of the patent’s claims. Silver Eagle Labs, the Nevada-based manufacturer of a national brand equivalent nasal strip, was named as a defendant in a suit filed by CNS in February, 2004, alleging infringement of two patents held by CNS. As an aside, CNS has developed an “Innovation Through Cooperation” web page, which includes a direct link to a web page dedicated to Bruce Johnson, the inventor of the Breathe Right® nasal strip.

U.S. Patent No. 6,318,362: LINK
Yahoo! News Article: LINK
CNS, Inc., Website: LINK
CNS “Innovation Through Cooperation” Web Page: LINK
CNS Web Page for Inventor Bruce Johnson: LINK
Silver Eagle Labs, Inc., Website: LINK

It was announced last week that SpaceDev, Inc., a company working on the design and development of space systems, obtained a patent on its hybrid propulsion technology. U.S. Patent No. 7,069,717, entitled “Hybrid propulsion system,” was granted last month and includes 15 claims on systems and methods for altitude control and propulsion. This patent discloses an altitude control system comprising an oxidizer supply and a nozzle connected to the supply, utilizing a pressure regulator within the system to maintain the oxidizer in a gaseous state as it enters to the nozzle. Thrust may be generated by providing the oxidizer to a hybrid rocket motor and regulating the flow and pressure of oxidizer. This invention, according to the patent, solves the “need for an improved hybrid propulsion system that in addition to providing general propulsion, also provides finely tunable attitude control.” This is, according to the USPTO assignment records, the fourth U.S. patent issued and assigned to SpaceDev.

U.S. Patent No. 7,069,717: LINK
Yahoo! News Article: LINK
SpaceDev Website: LINK