[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 73601]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30717]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-C-2011-0066]
Request for Comments on Additional USPTO Satellite Offices for
the Nationwide Workforce Program
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is interested
in gathering information on potential locations for future USPTO
satellite offices that the USPTO is directed to establish, subject to
available resources, under Section 23 of the America Invents Act (AIA).
The establishment of satellite offices is an important component of the
USPTO's continued efforts to recruit and retain a highly skilled
workforce, reduce patent application pendency and improve quality, and
enhance communication between the USPTO and the patent applicant
community. An initial satellite office is already planned to be
established in Detroit, Michigan. Subject to available resources, the
USPTO will establish at least two more satellite offices in addition to
the one in Detroit in accordance with the AIA.
Deadline: Written comments are requested on or before January 30,
2012. No public hearing will be held.
Written Comments: Submit comments electronically by email directly
to the USPTO at [email protected]. The USPTO prefers to
receive comments via email; however, comments may also be submitted by
postal mail addressed to: Azam Khan, Deputy Chief of Staff, United
States Patent and Trademark Office, Mail Stop Office of Under Secretary
and Director, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA, 22313-1450.
Comments may also be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal Web site at http://www.regulations.gov. Additional instructions
on providing comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal are
available at http://www.regulations.gov. All comments submitted
directly to the USPTO or provided on the Federal eRulemaking Portal
should include the docket number PTO-C-2011-0066, and should be
identified in the subject line of the email or postal mailing as
``Nationwide Workforce Program.''
All written comments will be available for public inspection upon
request at the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer located at
Madison West, 10th Floor, 600 Dulaney Street Alexandra, VA, and will be
available at the USPTO web site at http://www.uspto.gov. All comments
made through the Federal eRulemaking Portal will be made publicly
available on that Web site. Because comments will be made available for
public inspection, information that is not desired to be made public,
such as an address or phone number, should not be included in the
comments.
Contact: Azam Khan, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Under
Secretary and Director, at (571) 272-8600; by email at
[email protected]; or by postal mail addressed to: Azam Khan, Deputy
Chief of Staff, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Mail Stop
Office of Under Secretary and Director, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA,
22313-1450.
Additional Information: The USPTO requests information on potential
cities and regions for future locations of satellite offices as part of
its Nationwide Workforce Program.
An initial satellite office is planned to be established in
Detroit, Michigan. A nationwide workforce model will enable the USPTO
to expand its traditional hiring methods and seek out areas of the
country where the resources, including human resources and technical
expertise, exist to fulfill the USPTO's critical mission. It will
enable the USPTO to achieve better outreach and interact with the
patent applicant community. The USPTO is investigating options for
establishing satellite offices in at least two additional cities, where
the USPTO does not already have an office (Alexandria, Virginia) or
plan to establish an office (Detroit, Michigan). In accordance with the
AIA, the USPTO is looking for States and regions that would best serve
the interests of our employees, the USPTO's user community, and
America's patent and trademark system, while ensuring geographic
diversity among USPTO's offices.
Before choosing Detroit, the USPTO considered multiple cities to
determine the feasibility of the initial phase of this program. The
criteria included, but was not limited to: Occupational clusters;
patent attorneys and agents currently in the region; patent
applications by state; access to universities with strong engineering
programs; public transportation infrastructure and proximate location
to a major airport; the ability to share facilities with other
established governmental operations; the ability to support
Departmental objectives, including CommerceConnect, and increase
collaborations among Commerce bureaus and offices; and various economic
factors, including cost of living and unemployment rates of the city.
Comments should provide information that supports the USPTO's
purposes of establishing satellite offices, including that the location
will:
(1) Increase outreach activities to better connect patent filers
and innovators with the USPTO, including the number of patent filings
and grants by the city/region as well as other information that
provides insight into the region's innovation activity;
(2) Enhance patent examiner retention, including quality of life
indicators such as average household income, cost of living factors,
and other factors related to employee retention;
(3) Improve recruitment of patent examiners, including data on
employment rates and other economic factors in the area, science and
technology professionals, as well as legal professionals in the
workforce and other related information;
(4) Decrease the number of patent applications awaiting
examination; and
(5) Improve the quality of patent examination.
Comments may also include any other information the Office may find
useful in determining future locations such as information related to
available office space, the presence of universities with strong
engineering programs, the presence of research facilities, the economic
impact to the region, and any other economic factors. Comments may also
include information on additional factors the USPTO should consider in
comparing regions.
While the Office welcomes and values all comments from the public
in response to this request, these comments do not bind the Office to
any further actions related to the comments, and the Office may not
respond to any or every comment that is submitted. The Office will,
however, consider all written submissions.
Any and all decisions made with regard to future satellite office
locations will be made based on the criteria outlined in the AIA and in
line with the goals and mission of the USPTO.
Dated: November 22, 2011.
David J. Kappos,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-30717 Filed 11-28-11; 8:45 am]
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