Patent Public Advisory Committee Quarterly Meeting
Patent Operations Update
Remy YucelAssistant Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operatons
May 5, 2016
Unexamined Patent Application InventoryFY 2011 – FY 2016 (through April 26)
FY 2015 Result: 553,221.3
320,000
360,000
400,000
440,000
480,000
520,000
560,000
600,000
640,000
680,000
720,000
760,000FY1
1-Q1
FY11-Q
2
FY11-Q
3
FY11-Q
4
FY12-Q
1
FY12-Q
2
FY12-Q
3
FY12-Q
4
FY13-Q
1
FY13-Q
2
FY13-Q
3
FY13-Q
4
FY14-Q
1
FY14-Q
2
FY14-Q
3
FY14-Q
4
FY15-Q
1
FY15-Q
2
FY15-Q
3
FY15-Q
4
FY16-Q
1
FY16-Q
2
04/26/
16
Applic
ations
Awaiti
ng Firs
t Actio
n
Quarter
554,521 Unexamined Applications as of April 26, 2016.
RCE InventoryFY 2010 – FY 2016 (through April 26)
4
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
100,000
110,000
120,00010
/09
04/1
0
10/1
0
04/1
1
10/1
1
04/1
2
10/1
2
04/1
3
10/1
3
04/1
4
10/1
4
04/1
5
10/1
5
04/2
6/16
RCE
Appl
icatio
ns A
wai
ting
Next
Act
ion
Month/Year
RCE CSI Changes(Nov 2009)
AFCP(March 2012)
ABC DM Change(October 2013)
QPIDS (May 2012)
RCE Count Change(March 2013)
37,189 RCE Applications as of April 26, 2016.
First Action Pendency and Total PendencyFY 2011 – FY 2016 (March 31)
5
9.0
13.0
17.0
21.0
25.0
29.0
33.0
37.0FY1
1-Q4
FY12-Q
1
FY12-Q
2
FY12-Q
3
FY12-Q
4
FY13-Q
1
FY13-Q
2
FY13-Q
3
FY13-Q
4
FY14-Q
1
FY14-Q
2
FY14-Q
3
FY14-Q
4
FY15-Q
1
FY15-Q
2
FY15-Q
3
FY15-Q
4
FY16-Q
1
FY16-Q
2
Month
s
Year/Quarter
First Action Pendency Total Pendency
Total Pendency as of March 31, 2016: 26.1 months.
First Action Pendency as of March 31, 2016: 16.5 months.
12-Month Average UPR Examiner Attrition Rate Less Transfers and Retirees and Overall Attrition RateFY 2001 – FY 2016 (March 31)
6FY 2015 Attrition Rate Less Transfers and Retirees: 4.32%
FY 2015 Overall Attrition Rate: 5.6%
(Most recent overall government attrition rate was 6.2% in FY13)
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10%
11%
12%
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 -Q1
2016 -Q2
Percen
t
Year
Attrition Rate Less Transfers and Retirees Overall Attrition Rate
12-Month Attrition Rate Less Transfers and Retirees: 3.89%
12-Month Overall Attrition Rate: 5.37%
Actual Monthly Serialized and RCE Filings Received in October 2014 through March 2016
7
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
2014
/10
2014
/11
2014
/12
2015
/01
2015
/02
2015
/03
2015
/04
2015
/05
2015
/06
2015
/07
2015
/08
2015
/09
2015
/10
2015
/11
2015
/12
2016
/01
2016
/02
2016
/03
Appli
cation
s
Year/MonthSerialized Filings RCE Filings
Design FilingsFY 2009 – FY 2016 (through March)
8
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Appli
catio
ns
Fiscal Year
Shaded area represents projected remaining FY 16 filings.
19,636 applications received through March 31, 2016
Design Unexamined Application InventoryFY 2011 – FY 2016 (March)
FY 2015 Result: 39,2959
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
50,000FY1
1-Q1
FY11-Q
2
FY11-Q
3
FY11-Q
4
FY12-Q
1
FY12-Q
2
FY12-Q
3
FY12-Q
4
FY13-Q
1
FY13-Q
2
FY13-Q
3
FY13-Q
4
FY14-Q
1
FY14-Q
2
FY14-Q
3
FY14-Q
4
FY15-Q
1
FY15-Q
2
FY15-Q
3
FY15-Q
4
FY16-Q
1
Applica
tions A
waitin
g First
Action
Year/QuarterDesign Backlog
41,055 Unexamined Applications as of March 31, 2016.
Design First Action Pendency and Total PendencyFY 2011 – FY 2016 (March)
10
5.0
9.0
13.0
17.0
21.0FY1
1-Q4
FY12-Q
1
FY12-Q
2
FY12-Q
3
FY12-Q
4
FY13-Q
1
FY13-Q
2
FY13-Q
3
FY13-Q
4
FY14-Q
1
FY14-Q
2
FY14-Q
3
FY14-Q
4
FY15-Q
1
FY15-Q
2
FY15-Q
3
FY15-Q
4
FY16-Q
1
FY16-Q
2
Month
s
Year/Quarter
Design First Action Pendency Design Total Pendency
Design Total Pendency as of March 31, 2016: 19.9 months.
First Action Pendency as of March 31, 2016: 13.7 months.
Track One Filings(through April 26, 2016)
11
PetitionsReceived October November December January February March April May June July August September Total
FY 11 855 855FY 12 390 302 285 292 371 442 457 516 436 470 517 559 5,037FY 13 505 513 575 504 468 1,029 400 508 530 584 642 636 6,894FY 14 715 570 732 650 629 1,028 822 803 795 796 673 911 9,124FY 15 833 633 758 662 665 867 778 768 877 868 720 857 9,286FY 16 729 844 1,155 766 773 868 603 5,738
Track One Pendency • Average time from Filing to Petition grant: 1.4
months• Average time from petition grant to first action:
2.1 months• Average time from petition grant to final
disposition: 6.5 months• Average time from petition grant to allowance:
5.2 months
12
Track One Results
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
Number ofAbandonments
Number ofAllowances
Final Rejections Notice of Appeals
13
Cumulative through April 26, 2016.
First Action Interview ProgramTotal
Total applications 7,058Pre-interview Communications 4,153Interviews 4,292Total Allowances 4,073First Action allowances 1,707First Action allowance rate, FAI cases 29.5%First Action allowance rate, all cases 12%
14
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
Applications with Petition RequestsCumulative PPH Filings from 2010 – Present in CY
15Year and Month of First PPH Petition Filing
27183299
39714547
51145717
62746853
74017924
84499061
Apr-2015 May-2015 Jun-2015 Jul-2015 Aug-2015 Sep-2015 Oct-2015 Nov-2015 Dec-2015 Jan-2016 Feb-2016 Mar-2016
Applications with Petition RequestsCumulative PPH Filings Last 12 Months
16
Questions and Comments
Remy YucelAssistant Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations
(571) [email protected]
17
Patent Public Advisory Committee Quarterly Meeting
Central Reexamination Unit (CRU)
John Cottingham Director, Central Reexamination Unit
May 5, 2016
Current Makeup of the CRU• 1 SES Group Director
• 10 Supervisory Patent Examiner’s (Supervisory Patent Reexamination Specialists)
• 84 GS-15 Primary Patent Examiners (Patent Reexamination Specialists) with an average of 15-20 years of examining experience.
• 1 Manager for Technical Support Staff
• 8 Paralegals
• 3 Legal Instrument Examiners
• 1 Office Manager
• 1 Secretary
19
History of the CRU• The Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) was formed in the summer of 2005
from a selection of senior primary patent examiners and supervisory patent examiners with expert technical and advance patent legal knowledge from across various patent technology centers.
• The CRU’s initial mission was to centralize the handling of all ex parte and inter partes reexamination proceedings in order to ensure quality examination while complying with statutory mandate of special dispatch required by 35 U.S.C. §305 and 35 U.S.C. §314.
20
• In the fall of 2011, with the passage of AIA, the CRU, working with the USPTO’s Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, helped to develop the Office’s interpretation of the new “Reasonable Likelihood of Prevailing” standard for granting Inter Partes Reexamination (See 76 Fed. Reg. 59055 (Sept. 23, 2011) (Final Rule) per section 6 of the AIA
REEXAMINATI
The CRU and the America Invents Act (AIA)D THE AIA
21
• In early 2012, prior to the transition of from Inter Partes Reexamination to Inter Partes Review (IPR) at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), the CRU added more Examiners, in anticipation of an expected increase in Inter Partes reexamination request filings prior to the elimination of Inter Partes reexamination.
REEXAMINATI
The CRU and the America Invents Act (AIA)D THE AIA
22
• The passage of AIA in 2012, created a new post grant proceeding called Supplemental Examination (See 35 U.S.C. § 257)
• This proceeding provides patent owners a new process wherein they may request supplemental examination of a patent to “consider, reconsider, or correct information” believed to be relevant to the patent. 35 U.S.C. § 257(a)
• The CRU worked closely with the Office of Patent Legal Administration (OPLA) in order to develop the proposed rules for Supplemental Examination.
REEXAMINATI
The CRU and the America Invents Act (AIA)Supplemental Examination (35 U.S.C. § 257)THE
23
• 35 U.S.C. § 257(a) requires supplemental examination to be conducted and concluded within 3 months after the date the compliant supplemental examination request is received.
• To date, 111 compliant supplemental examination requests have been received.
• The average time from date of filing to conclusion of the supplemental examination proceeding by issuance of the supplemental examination certificate is 1 month.
REEXAMINATI
The CRU and the America Invents Act (AIA)Supplemental Examination (35 U.S.C. § 257)THE
24
• The CRU currently has approximately 435 pending ex parte reexamination proceedings.
• The CRU’s average time from filing to issuance of an Order granting or denying ex parte reexamination is approximately 1.3 months
• The CRU’s average time from ex parte reexamination request filing to issuance of a Notice of Intent to Issue ex parte Reexamination Certificate (NIRC) with no prior Patent Owner appeal to the PTAB is 11.4 months.
• The CRU’s average time from ex parte reexamination request filing to issuance of a Notice of Intent to Issue ex parte reexamination Certificate (NIRC) with appeal to the PTAB is 21 months.
REEXAMINATIThe CRU and Ex Parte Reexamination Proceedings
25
• In 2014, the CRU took on the responsibility for examination of all newly filed applications for reissue of a patent.
• In 2015, the majority of pending reissue applications were transferred from the technology centers to the CRU.
• The purpose of bringing examination of reissue applications under the purview of the CRU was to provide consistent and quality handling of all reissue applications and to provide consistent Office practice with respect to the interpretation of 35 U.S.C. §251.
REEXAMINATI
The CRU and Applications for Reissue
26
• Currently, there are approximately 2000 reissue applications assigned to the CRU. These reissue applications consist of a mix of previously filed reissue applications and reissue RCEs transferred from the patent technology centers as well as newly filed reissue applications.
• Approximately 300 new reissue applications have been filed this fiscal year.
• The CRU is concentrating on examining the oldest reissue applications first.
REEXAMINATI
The CRU and Applications for Reissue (continued)
27
• The passage of AIA provided third parties the ability to challenge the same patent concurrently under multiple different Office proceedings (Ex ParteReexamination, Inter Partes Review (IPR), Post Grant Review (PGR) and Covered Business Method (CBM)).
• The CRU closely monitors all pending and concluded PTAB post grant proceedings and reviews all PTAB determinations before taking any action in an Ex Parte Reexamination proceeding or pending reissue application involving the same patent.
REEXAMINATIThe CRU and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
AIA Post Grant Proceedings
28
• Currently the processing of all deposited ex parte reexamination and supplemental examination requests and the determination of compliance with filing date requirements are handled by CRU technical support staff (CRU paralegals and CRU legal instrument examiners).
• The processing of reissue applications and determination of filing date requirements are handled by the Office Patent Application Processing (OPAP) and by technology center legal instrument examiners.
REEXAMINATI
CRU Operations
29
• Each ex parte reexamination request, supplemental examination request or reissue application is assigned to a single CRU examiner based on the technology (chemical, electrical or mechanical). That examiner is responsible for the examination of the proceeding or application.
• Before being mailed, all substantive Office actions are reviewed, conferenced and signed by a three person panel consisting of (1) the examiner assigned to the case, (2) a conferee examiner working in the same technology, and (3) a CRU supervisor.
REEXAMINATI
CRU Operations continued…
30
• In just over 10 years, the CRU has expanded greatly in both it’s size and its duties.
• The division and its personnel has shown it’s ability to rapidly adapt to changes in patent law and as well as changes in the general patent practice landscape.
• While the types of proceedings the CRU handles on a daily basis has changed, the unit has consistently shown the ability to handle all its duties with professionalism and to produce high quality work product in a timely manner.
REEXAMINATI
The Future of the CRU
31
Questions and Comments
John CottinghamDirector, Central Reexamination Unit
(571) [email protected]
32
