Author Archives: mjwhitekingston

The USPTO has released Classification Order 1853, covering classification changes to design classes: D9 – Packages and containers for goodsD23 – Environmental heating and cooling; fluid handling and sanitary equipmentD32 – Washing, clearning, or drying machine The classification order includes … Continue reading →

The EPO has announced a new ECLA section, Y01N, for nanotechnology-related patents. The new section has not yet been added to the esp@cenet classification search, but the schedule is available on the espacenet online forum and Y01N codes are searchable … Continue reading →

Presentations and other materials from the EPO’s 2005 Far East Meets West: Patent Information from Japan and the Far East conference is now available on the EPO’s web site. Topics include searching Japanese, Chinese and Korean patent documents, implementation of … Continue reading →

The EPO has published new guideliness for searching IPC codes under IPC8, which went into force on Jan. 1. IPC8 is divided into “Core” and “Advanced” levels. The Core level will be updated every three years; the Advanced level is … Continue reading →

If you’re a patent news hound like me, you`re probably in the habit of visiting 3-6 patent office web sites a week looking for the latest official press releases, notices and announcements. Of course, all of that clicking and typing … Continue reading →

The USPTO issued 2,512 patents and published 5,059 applications the week of December 18 and issued 3,049 patents and published 5,796 applications the week of December 25, the final week of 2005.* The sharp drop in the number of issued … Continue reading →

Stephen Barr’s recent column in the Washington Post (Dec. 21) noted the retirement of Ronald J. Stern, president of the Patent Office Professional Association (POPA), the union representing patent examiners and other USPTO professional staff, including librarians. Stern worked as … Continue reading →

The December quarterly report of the E-Government American Customer Satisfaction Index (E-Gov ACSI), an independent survey that measures customer satisfaction with Federal government websites, shows that overall customer satisfaction with government websites has risen from 72.1 a year ago to … Continue reading →

U.S. Patents and Published ApplicationsWeek of December 12, 2005Patents Issued = 2,873*Published Applications = 4,914* Patents PGPubs TotalQ1 40,563 71,889 112,452Q2 41,926 72,776 114,702Q3 41,693 72,298 113,991Q4 28,076 61,796 89,872 (to Dec. 15)Year 152,258 278,759 431,017 There has been a … Continue reading →

Less than 18 months after opening, the new USPTO Public Search Facility (PSF) and Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC) are being reconfigured in order to accomodate two new USPTO training initiatives scheduled to start in early 2006. According to … Continue reading →