USPTO Commissioner Bob Stoll and Me

MARK TERRY, ESQ.

At a South Florida intellectual-property-law dinner in Miami, USPTO Commissioner Robert Stoll presented several initiatives intended to improve patent prosecution and reduce delays.

The proposals included reducing pendency to a first office action to ten months, reducing total pendency to twenty months, encouraging first-action interviews before an office action is entered, and hiring substantial numbers of additional examiners.

For patent practitioners and applicants, these changes promised faster resolution and less unnecessary back-and-forth with the Office. Earlier examiner contact could help identify issues before positions harden and potentially move applications toward allowance more efficiently.

Lessons learned: Initiatives that improve examiner communication and reduce pendency benefit both practitioners and inventors. A more predictable timeline can also make patent protection more attractive to businesses deciding whether to invest in additional filings.