Ron Reardon

NAPP® has commented twice on HR2795, The Patent Reform Act of 2005.  I want to thank Louis Hoffman and his team for the time and effort spent on this.  Those comments are found here.

At the September 27 meeting of the Georgia Chapter of NAPP® we had the rare privilege of having Hayden Gregory—Legislative Consultant for the A.B.A.—share with us the history of this bill (thanks to our Executive Director, Joy Bryant for arranging this).  For most of us, this bill appeared on our radar earlier this year.  However, Hayden informed us that the roots of this effort go back to at least 2002 with an FTC report, followed by a 2004 National Research Council of the National Academies study.  So this has been years in the making.

Hayden’s presentation gave me insight as to why this bill is so controversial and has polarized the IP community.  In my opinion, the position that one takes regarding the entire bill or just one element, depends on which industry you represent, which client you represent, the size of your firm, etc.  While this may be a “blinding flash of the obvious” to some of you, it clarifies for me the passionate discussion within NAPP® on this bill.

Depending on the issue, if you represent large entities, you may have one view; if you represent small entities, you may have another view; if you are in the software industry, you may have one view; if you are in the pharmaceutical industry, you may have another view.  Each holder of these various views will sincerely believe that they hold the correct view.  Even within the NAPP® membership, there are different views, as one would expect.

EFS Update

By Joy Bryant

The USPTO has announced that they will begin Beta testing of EFS-Web, the web-based patent filing system on November 30.  The Beta testing will be divided into two phases.  Phase I will involve those who participated in previous e-filing forums.  Phase II will involve those who expressed an interest in the Beta testing but were not E-filing Forum participants in the past.  Training for Phase II participants will begin on January 17.  Upon successful completion of the Beta, EFS-Web will move into production on March 17.

Foreign Patent Practice

EPO vs. USPTO: Which should I choose for my PCT?

By Jeff Sweetman

This is a question that pops up frequently (if you subscribe to the NAPP patent practice e-mail discussion forum you will recently have seen a discussion on this very topic).  Under a bilateral agreement, Europe and the US have agreed that their residents can select which of those two patent offices provides the International Search Report (ISR) and International Preliminary Examination Report (IPER) for a PCT application.  For a cost comparison and other considerations access the article.

New Central Fax Number for the USPTO

As announced in prior issues of The Disclosure®, the USPTO's Central Fax Number is now: 571-273-8300.

NAPP® Membership Rosters

One advantage of NAPP's new website is allowing members to obtain real-time updates of membership rosters.  The membership rosters are divided into the three membership classes:  practitioners, associates, and academic members.  These rosters provide valuable contact information for our members.  Please note that for privacy purposes, we do not include e-mail addresses.  To access the rosters, members should log in to the Member Center portion of the website.  The rosters can then be accessed from the left-hand toolbar.

The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and may not necessarily be supported by the NAPP, its members, officers, or directors.

The Disclosure® welcomes the submission of articles on topics related to US and foreign patent practice.  To submit  an article to The Disclosure®, please send it as an e-mail attachment to editor@napp.org.
 

Joy L. Bryant, Esq.

The Government Affairs Committee worked diligently in September to assemble a formal position paper with respect to a substitute Bill for HR2795 introduced in July.  NAPP's position paper is found here.

As the year winds down, NAPP's Officers and Directors are setting goals for 2006.  One of our main goals is to create more programs that will cater to NAPP member needs.  Ideas for these programs have come from the membership survey that we conducted in late August/early September.  Thank you to those who participated in the survey and provided valuable comments.  In general, our "crown jewel" offering of NAPP is our e-mail discussion lists.  Many members have found the lists to be an invaluable asset to their practices.  We hope to continue this and enhance this feature in the near future.

We also hope to add more teleconferences and training sessions in 2006.  These teleconferences would offer topics that would support the NAPP Certification Program's Best Practices Document.  If you are interested in assisting, please let me know.

Lastly, the future or NAPP rests in the hands of its members.  The strengths and weaknesses of this organization are determined by the amount of membership participation.  If the burden of the organization is borne by only a few, NAPP will not grow or become strong.  Therefore, we encourage you to get involved!  You may do so by volunteering for a committee, teaching a teleconference topic, becoming a regional chapter director, etc.  The opportunities abound!  If you wish to help, let us know.

Celebrate NAPP'S 10th Anniversary  - Alexandria, Virginia July 15-18, 2006

The 2006 NAPP® Annual Meeting will be held in Old Town Alexandria, adjacent to the US Patent and Trademark Office.  The Annual Meeting Committee is now beginning to work on programming for next year.  If you are interested in speaking, please contact us.  Speakers enjoy a discount rate to attend the meeting.

At the Georgia Regional Chapter  meeting on September 27, 2005,  Hayden Gregory, lobbyist for the ABA, gave an update on the Patent Law Reform Bill. The next meeting of the Georgia Regional Chapter is scheduled for January 11, 2006, when David Nour of The Nour Group will  speak on "Relationship Economics."

The New Jersey Regional Chapter seeks a Director.  The Regional Chapter Director will be responsible for identifying speakers and arranging site locations for three meetings per year.  If you are interested in this position, please contact us.