Tag: examiner

Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Internet, Latest Trend, Report

USPTO Embraces Virtual Workforce

 USPTO Embraces Virtual Workforce

USPTO Commissioner John Doll talks abouts plans to expand the USPTO
Patent Hoteling Program at a recent DaVinci Institute event

As a solution to the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) difficulties in recruiting and retaining high caliber patent examiners and other critical personnel to move to the Washington, DC area, the agency has embraced a telework policy that it intends to grow over the coming years. The telework programs allow people to live and work in cities throughout the US and commute back to DC for meeting and training.

By 2011, more than 3,000 patent examiners will be teleworking.

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Current Events, Historical Perspectives

The U.S. Patent Backlog Keeps Growing

The U.S. Patent Backlog Keeps Growing

Even with its increased hiring estimates of 1,200 patent examiners each year for the next 5 years, the US Patent and Trademark Office patent application backlog is expected to increase to over 1.3 million at the end of fiscal year 2011 the Government Accounting Office reported today.

The USPTO has also estimated that if it were able to hire 2,000 patent examiners per year in fiscal year 2007 and each of the next 5 years, the backlog would continue to increase by about 260,000 applications, to 953,643 at the end of fiscal year 2011, the GAO said.

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