USPTO Performance and Accountability Report - U.S. Patent and ...

Providing Policy Advice and Expertise to
Other USG Agencies
The USPTO continued to provide policy advice and
technical expertise on IP administration, protection,
and enforcement both domestically and internationally
to the DOC and other federal agencies.
The USPTO advised the Office of the United States
Trade Representative during the WTO accession
process of several countries in evaluating intellectual
property rights (IPR) laws, regulations, and
practices of countries and their consistency with the
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property.
The USPTO provides policy advice and expertise to
the U.S. Department of State regarding IP issues that
arise in various agencies of the United Nations
including WIPO and the World Health Organization,
as well as the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development.
Providing Technical Expertise in Negotiation
and Implementation of Bilateral and
Multilateral Agreements
In FY 2012, the USPTO continued to provide expert
technical advice on IP protection in connection with
on-going negotiations and implementation of
bilateral and multilateral agreements. For example,
the USPTO played an active role in the ongoing TPP
free trade agreement negotiations which seek to
ensure an effective and balanced approach to intellectual
property rights among the member countries.
The USPTO worked closely with USTR to assist Korea,
Colombia, and Panama with implementation of the
IP provisions of their free trade agreements with the
United States. Among other things, these agreements
provide for state-of-the-art protection for U.S.
trademarks such as expanding the definition of a
trademark to include protection for non-visually
perceptible marks, as well as recognizing the principles
of priority and exclusivity in the relationship
between trademarks and geographical indications.
Improved transparency provisions provide interested
parties the opportunity to oppose and cancel registrations
and to know the reason for decisions with
respect to registration. Finally, the agreements
memorialized each country’s commitment to
improving its trademark system by implementing an
electronic application filing system and developing
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property
and Director of the USPTO, David Kappos and
President of EPO signing the Joint Cooperative Patent
Classification (CPC) statement in October 2010.
a public on-line database of trademark applications
and registrations. This will save U.S. companies time
and money and make it easier for them to take the
necessary steps to protect their trademarks in these
markets.
The USPTO continued to play an active role in the
negotiation of Science and Technology Agreements
with several countries.
Increasing the effectiveness of IP Attachés
in Prioritized Countries/Regions
The USPTO places a high priority on increasing the effectiveness
of the IP systems in prioritized countries/regions.
In 2012, The IP Attaché program instituted new vision
and mission statements that clearly linked program
objectives and priorities to the overall mission of the
USPTO. Standard operating procedures, developed by
the IP Attaché Task Force, were implemented.
They require Attachés to: (1) consult with stakeholders
to define and prioritize IP-related business objectives in
their country and region; (2) build a matrix of U.S. and
foreign stakeholder associations and companies, and
their respective IP-related concerns; (3) identify any
existing bilateral agreements that support our objectives;
and (4) seek to negotiate bilateral agreements, or
informal work plans, and associated metrics with host
governments.
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