| Appeals, Interferences, Patent Trial and Appeal Board |
Referenced Items (333, 334, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343) |
(337) Signatures No Longer Provided on
Outgoing Correspondence from the
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
In response to recent inquiries from the public, the following is
provided as clarification and update of the Board's signature policy.
Beginning in early 2002, the Trial Division of the Board phased out
signatures on outgoing correspondence in interference proceedings. This
practice aided in increasing the efficiency of electronically processed
documents and the timeliness of documents of electronically transmitted
by the Trial Division. In December 2006, the Appeals Division of the
Board implemented electronic processing of ex parte appeal opinions and
concomitantly stopped providing signatures on opinions. Electronically
processed opinions allow the Board to utilize the USPTO's e-Office Action
pilot program for electronic notification of Board opinions to Private
PAIR users. Based on the efficiency gains experienced by both the Trial
and Appeal Divisions of the Board by not signing outgoing correspondence,
the Board will no longer sign any outgoing correspondence. This includes
decisions on petitions and non-final orders signed by Board personnel
other than Administration Patent Judges. Outgoing correspondence will,
however, continue to clearly specify the name(s) and title(s) of the
documents author(s).
Unlike patents, which require the Director's signature, see 35 U.S.C.
§ 153, Board documents are not subject to a signature requirement.
Comments regarding this notice may be directed to Kimberly Jordan,
Chief Trial Administrator, Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, at
kimberly.jordan@uspto.gov.
MICHAEL R. FLEMING
Chief Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
[1328 OG 140]
Top of Notices (337) December 31, 2019