Due May 24 -- Comments On Improving Patent Quality Metrics

Many patent attorneys received a notice recently, copied below, alerting them to efforts by the US Patent Office to improve patent quality.

The notice references a “Master Review Form”. A preliminary version can be found at:
http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/MRF.pdf

Not only does this Form serve as a “checklist” for how examiners are supposed to process your application, it provides an indication of how prosecution will be graded by the Office.

Once the Form is finalized, you can use it to fortify your responses, so that when you find something missing in an Office Action, you can explicitly point out how the Examiner has failed to properly address certain aspects of the rejection.

If you are able to promote the missing content as a significant deficiency, noted as such in bold type in the response, and using the same words that are on the Form, you might just get a second chance at allowance.

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PATENT ALERT

Comments on Improving Patent Quality Metrics Due By May 24

The USPTO requests your feedback regarding our decision to replace the Composite Quality Score (used during fiscal years 2011-2015 to report our quality) with individual metrics focused on correctness and clarity of completed office actions. We also want your feedback on a Master Review Form that the office recently created to have consistent criteria for reviewers to use when assessing both the correctness and clarity of mailed office actions.

Written comments must be submitted to QualityMetrics2017@uspto.gov by May 24. Prior to submission, please review the Federal Register Notice.

Additional information:

• Quality Metrics
• Clarity and Correctness Data Capture (Master Review Form)
• Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative

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