OPLA DUTIES

• OPLA provides legal and policy guidance to the Commissioner for Patents, the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations, the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Resources and Planning, and the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy.

• OPLA assists in the development and implementation of patent law, provides means for its implementation, and formulates the accompanying regulations and practices.

• OPLA monitors specialized programs such as reexamination, reissue and patent term extension; and assists in the efforts to negotiate the harmonization of patent laws and other international matters.

• OPLA provides MPEP staff with suggested changes to the MPEP as a result of changes to the patent rules.

• OPLA is also responsible for updating a majority of forms used by the patent examining corps and USPTO customers to reflect changes made to the patent rules and through policy initiatives.

• OPLA legal advisors and special projects examiner provide staff assistance on special projects or studies as may be assigned by the Director of the OPLA, the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy or the Commissioner for Patents. They also prepare reports or other documents as may be appropriate including studies and papers comparing US patent law and practices with the patent laws of other countries.

• OPLA staff research case law, appropriate rules, facts-in-evidence, and other pertinent information; discuss policy implications with top USPTO management officials; compose USPTO decisions and either sign the decision(s) or have the final USPTO decision signed by the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy or other top US Patent and Trademark Office management officials.

• OPLA staff represent the USPTO and explain US patent law and Office policies and procedures in letters, phone calls, lectures and other contacts with members of the public and the patent bar.

• OPLA staff decide various petitions and assists the Office of Petitions in deciding petitions, which have been delegated to that office for consideration.

Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP)

The MPEP staff organization works directly for the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy and provides staff assistance in developing and formulating new guidelines, examining practices and procedures as well as revising existing guidelines, practices and procedures. The MPEP staff is responsible for updating the MPEP and the form paragraphs used by the examining corps. The MPEP staff is also responsible for ensuring that revised policies and procedures are appropriately disseminated to Office personnel through revisions to the MPEP, Federal Register or Official Gazette notices, or other official announcements. The MPEP staff also handles inquiries from Office personnel and the public requesting assistance in properly interpreting existing practices and procedures.

The MPEP

The Manual is published to provide USPTO patent examiners, applicants, attorneys, agents and representatives of applicants with a reference work on the practices and procedures relative to the prosecution of patent applications before the USPTO. The MPEP contains instructions to patent examiners, as well as other material in the nature of information and interpretation, and outlines the current procedures which the patent examiners are required or authorized to follow in appropriate cases in the examination of a patent application. The MPEP does not have the force of law or the force of the rules. The MPEP is available in both paper and electronic form.

Suggestions for improving the form and content of the MPEP are always welcome. They should be addressed to: Mail Stop MPEP, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450 or sent via e-mail to: MPEP Feedback@uspto.gov.

Trilateral

The USPTO in cooperation with the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) have been participating in projects within the Trilateral framework since the 1980s. Some of the current projects include the comparative study on biotechnology patent practices and the concurrent search program. These documents are available on the Trilateral Web site (TWS).