The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it will host a public forum to discuss the first-inventor-to-file (FITF) provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA). The forum marks the first anniversary of the implementation of FITF, and will be held on March 17, 2014, at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Deputy Director Michelle Lee, along with experts from the offices of the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy and the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations, will participate in the event.
The public meeting will serve as an opportunity for USPTO subject matter experts and stakeholders to discuss the FITF provisions and updates since its implementation. The forum will begin with an informal meet-and-greet session, followed by remarks and a question and answer session with USPTO experts. Topics to be discussed include FITF statistics to date, how to know whether an application will be examined under FITF or not, and the exception provisions of the FITF statutory framework. The experts will present a variety of example scenarios to illustrate the FITF provisions.
The event will also be webcast live through the USPTO website (www.uspto.gov). More information, including webcast login instructions and meeting agenda, will be available on the AIA microsite:www.uspto.gov/aia_implementation/index.jsp
Source: USPTO
