Office of the Commissioner for Patents
Office for Patent Examination Policy
The Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy provides staff assistance in establishing patent examination and documentation policy standards for the Commissioner for Patents and is the authority on patent laws, rules, and examining practice and procedure. This office also provides direction on establishment of new rules, practices and procedures; reviews and revises the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. The Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy is the deciding official for petitions on patent matters delegated by the Under Secretary and Director, for ordering Under Secretary and Director ordered re-examinations, for Patent Quality Review appeals to the Commissioner for Patents, for requests for reconsideration of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences decisions. This office is also responsible for the review of actions by the Patent Quality Review and also provides support, representation, advice and direction on technical matters relating to the International Patent Classification (IPC) System, and other international documentation-related standards.
This office is made up of the Office of Petitions, Office of Patent Legal Administration, and the Office of Patent Cooperation Treaty Legal Administration.
The current Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy is John Love.
Office of Patent Operations
The Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations oversee all patent examining functions in the seven Patent Technology Centers. Patent Operations has more than 3500 highly skilled scientists and engineers.
This office is comprised of Patent Examining Groups and the Office of Patent Publication.
The current Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations is Margaret Focarino.
Office of Patent Resources and Planning
The Deputy Commissioner for Patent Resources and Planning provides representation and direction on strategic outreach and planning for the Commissioner for Patents, provides direction on program requirements for automated systems relating to domestic and international patent information technology systems, and directs all operational aspects of patent application initial examination, patent publications, and international PCT applications processing.
This office is comprised of the three offices: the Office of Patent Planning and Capacity Analysis, the Office of Patent Resource Administration, and the Office of Search and Information Resources Administration.
