USPTO Leadership to Host Webinar on Tuesday

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced last week that senior agency officials would be hosting a free public webinar on Tuesday, February 21 at 4:30 pm (ET).  The webinar will be moderated by Peter Pappas, Chief of Staff for the Office of the Director, and will feature Director David Kappos, Deputy Director Teresa Stanek Rea, Commissioner for Patents Peggy Focarino, USPTO General Counsel Bernard Knight, and BPAI Chief Administrative Patent Judge James D. Smith.  The agency leaders will outline proposals for new patent fees and discuss other issues related to implementation of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.  In addition, the group will answer selected questions, which may be submitted in advance to webinar@uspto.gov.  The webinar can be viewed here (the event number is 998 930 187, and the event password is 123456).  Those wishing to listen in can do so by calling 408-600-3600, and using the access code 998 930 187.

Webcast for First PPAC Fees Hearing Now Available

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has made the webcast for the first of two public hearings on fees available.  As the Office indicated in a Federal Register notice issued last month, the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) is to hold two public hearings this month regarding proposed patent fees (see "PPAC to Hold Public Hearings on Proposed Fee Schedule").  The first hearing took place on February 15 in Alexandria, Virginia, and the second is scheduled to take place from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm (PST) on February 23 at the Sunnyvale Public Library, 665 W. Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94086...
House Prior User Rights Testimony Available

On February 1, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director David Kappos appeared before the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet of the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary to give testimony on prior user rights. ..

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