Enactment of Patent Reform to Trigger Monumental Rule Making Effort

With so much of the current focus on Congress being centered around the debt ceiling debate, it is easy to forget about other legislative initiatives in the queue. Still, once the current crisis is resolved (or the can kicked down the road as the case may be) the Senate will turn to other issues of interest to the voting masses, like patent reform no-cost job bills.

With many expecting the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to be fast tracked to enactment, the USPTO has been busy organizing their forces in anticipation. With Patent Reform bringing the most significant changes to patent law in generations, the USPTO will be tasked with drafting an unprecedented number of rule packages (19 or more) to implement the legislative changes within a very tight deadline.

Yesterday, the USPTO announced the establishment of a website to expedite the submission of public feedback. The site is explained as providing: “information to our stakeholders and the public on the legislation and USPTO’s actions to implement the provisions of the AIA, and to seek your preliminary input and comments.  We will provide updates on this site throughout the implementation process.  While any comments you provide on the site are informal and not treated as part of a formal request for comments or a rulemaking, we intend to review and consider comments provided on the site.”

The site may be found (here). 19 rule making areas are identified (here)