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Patent and Trademark Office
RECENT NEWS STORIES
Chamber report proposes fixes to patent review process (12/19/08) Re-establishing the Patent and Trademark Office as a government corporation is among the recommendations. Former patent officials say backlog should become a top priority (12/12/08) The Patent and Trademark Office has 700,000 applications in need of processing, not including those currently being reviewed. Lobbyist's work for Obama transition raises concerns over ethics guidelines (11/20/08) Sources say James Halpert, an attorney and registered lobbyist with DLA Piper, is advising on matters related to the Patent and Trademark Office and intellectual property.
Patent office cites progress in breaking application logjam (11/17/08) Agency's year-end numbers indicate it exceeded some of its targets.
Telework becomes more attractive as quality-of-life concerns spike (08/11/08) As fuel prices, traffic and pollution peak, managers are becoming more open to letting employees work from home. PTO deputy director to leave agency next month (07/29/08) Announcement comes as lawmakers fight to break an impasse on legislation to overhaul the patent system. Panelists: Telework can improve management (04/22/08) Talented employees will produce whether they're working at home or in the office, officials say. Patent and Trademark Office budget amendment approved (03/17/08) Senator says economic benefits are lost when pace of patent approval slows. Subcommittee grills PTO director on patent backlog, morale (02/28/08) By late 2007, more than 760,000 applications were waiting to be reviewed; hiring restrictions have left agency understaffed. Congressional Budget Office: Patent bill cost exceeds expected revenue (02/19/08) Bill would would increase federal spending by $26.9 billion. Budget breakdown: How agencies, programs fared (02/05/08) Winners and losers in President Bush's fiscal 2009 budget proposal.
Goal-setting, training called keys to telework (11/06/07) Agencies urged to view telework as an organizational tool, not a reward for high-performing employees. GAO: Patent office lacks sufficient hiring plan (10/05/07) Efforts to increase the number of patent examiners are being offset by attrition, and staff levels are inadequate to address an application backlog, report says. Dems propose clean stopgap funding measure (09/25/07) Bill would keep agencies running between the end of the fiscal year and Nov. 16. Quiet end to technology agency lamented (09/17/07) Since the 1980s, the Technology Administration has served as one-stop shopping for tech companies dealing with federal agencies on competitiveness issues. New rules for patent reviews get mixed reception (08/22/07) Changes are aimed at making the examination process more efficient; Patent and Trademark Office has a backlog of more than a million pending applications. Lawmakers pursue more money to guard intellectual property (08/15/07) Reports accompanying spending bills signal appropriators are troubled by growing backlog of patent applications and the time it takes to process them. Definition of 'telework,' measure of benefits still lacking (06/13/07) Many agencies don't have a handle on how many employees actually work away from the office, and lack ways to quantify productivity gains. Lawmakers probe agencies' diversity efforts (05/11/07) Ad campaigns and proactive job fair appearances are among the strategies being used to attract a diverse applicant pool. Online filing of patent applications surpasses targets (04/30/07) More new patent applications are being filed electronically each week than through the traditional paper process.
