United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 07 February 2006

          Extension of the Pilot Pre-Appeal Brief Conference Program

   In July of 2005, the United States Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) established a pilot pre-appeal brief conference program that
offers a patent applicant an avenue to request a review of the legal
and factual basis of the rejections in his or her patent application
prior to the filing of an appeal brief. See New Pre-Appeal Brief
Conference Pilot Program, 1296 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 67 (July 12, 2005).
The USPTO indicated that the pilot pre-appeal brief conference program
would run for at least six months, and that the USPTO would extend,
terminate, revise or otherwise take appropriate action after evaluating
the effectiveness of the pilot pre-appeal brief conference program. See
New Pre-Appeal Brief Conference Pilot Program, 1296 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office
at 69. While the USPTO has not yet completed its evaluation of the pilot
pre-appeal brief conference program, the initial results of this program
appear to be promising. Therefore, the USPTO is extending the pilot
pre-appeal brief conference program until further notice.

   Please continue to direct inquiries with respect to a pending request
for a pre-appeal brief conference to the examiner to whom the patent
application is assigned, or the examiner's immediate supervisor. Please
direct comments and inquiries on this pilot program to Anton Fetting via
email addressed to anton.fetting@uspto.gov. You may also contact Mr.
Fetting at (571) 272-7717.

January 10, 2006                                                  JOHN DOLL
                                                   Commissioner for Patents