By
Sarah Fendrick —

Last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced the launch of a new ombudsman
pilot program that will provide patent applicants with more assistance with
application processing problems.  The
new pilot program allows applicants experiencing problems during processing to
contact an ombudsman representative.  The ombudsman representative will call the applicant within one day for
assistance in resolving the problem.  The problems raised will be tracked and used to construct a website that
provides answers to commonly encountered issues.  Additional information regarding the pilot program can be found in a notice the Office published in the Federal Register (75 Fed. Reg. 17380).

In an Office press release announcing the launch,
USPTO Director David Kappos stated that the "program is a direct response to feedback we've received from members of the
patent community who have told us that they need a dedicated resource they can
turn to when they have concerns about the prosecution of their application."  Director Kappos added that the Office was "always striving for ways to improve the
quality and efficiency of patent examinations, and we believe this initiative
is an important step forward on both these fronts."

Applicants can
contact an ombudsman representative through the Ombudsman Pilot Program webpage.  While the pilot program is being made available to
provide additional assistance, existing resources still remain
available to patent applicants.

For additional information regarding this topic, please see:

• "USPTO Proposes Patents Ombudsman Pilot Program," November 12, 2009