Patents External Quality Survey

OMB No: XXXX-XXXX
Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

United States Patent and
Trademark Office
Quality Survey

Winter 2013

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of
information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number of this
information collection is XXXX-XXXX. The time required to complete this information collection is
estimated to average 10 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing
data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have
any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form,
please write to: Chief Information Officer, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Washington DC 20231. If
you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write
directly to: Martin Rater, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Patent Quality Assurance, 600 Dulany
Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.

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«CUSTID»

PURPOSE OF THE UNITED STATES PATENT
AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
QUALITY SURVEY

This United States Patent and Trademark Office Quality Survey is an instrument designed to
measure your opinions about the services that we provide for you. The results from this
voluntary survey will assist us in guiding improvements and enhancements in the future.

Survey Completion Instructions
Please complete the survey based upon your overall experience working with
U.S. Patent Examiners over the past 3 month time period.
We estimate that it will take no longer than 10 minutes to complete the survey. If you have any
questions, please call Sushama Rajapaksa at Westat, at 1-888-516-1169 or send an email to
USPTO-QS@westat.com.

Your participation is entirely voluntary, and if you choose to complete the survey, all of your
responses will be used for internal analysis only.

Special Internet Option:
You have the option of responding to this survey over the Internet. Please see the materials that
accompanied this survey for instructions. If you respond using the Internet, please discard this
survey.

Thank you for your assistance.

Summer 2012 USPTO Quality Survey
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU, OUR CUSTOMER

1. What is your affiliation?






Law Firm or Sole Practitioner
Corporation
Independent Inventor
Other (University, Federal Government, etc.)

2. Which technology field listed below best describes the majority of patent applications you have filed
over the past 3 months? (SELECT ONLY ONE)







Chemical (Technology Centers 1600 or 1700)
Electrical (Technology Centers 2100, 2400, 2600, or 2800)
Mechanical (Technology Centers 3600 or 3700)
Designs (Technology Center 2900)
Did not file a patent application in the past 3 months

3. Approximately how many Office Actions have you received during the past 3 months?








1 to 10
11 to 20
21 to 30
31 to 50
51 or more
Have not received an Office Action in the past 3 months

4a. How often have you communicated over the telephone or in person with USPTO Patent Examiners in
the past 3 months?







Have not communicated with Patent Examiners in the past 3 months Go to question 5
Only once Go to question 4b
Rarely Go to question 4b
Occasionally Go to question 4b
Often Go to question 4b

YOUR INTERACTIONS WITH PATENT EXAMINERS
Consider your experiences over the past 3 months. Please think about the in person or telephone
conversations that you initiated with the Office.
4b. To what extent was/were the non-supervisory Patent Examiner(s):
Not At
All

Small
Extent

Moderate
Extent

Large
Extent

Don’t
Know/Not
Applicable

1. Available to resolve your issues











2. Attentive to your concerns































3. Responsive to your inquiries
4. Properly prepared to discuss the
issues at hand
5. Able to facilitate a positive
resolution

PATENT EXAMINERS’ DECISIONS

5. Consider your experiences over the past 3 months. Please think about the rules and procedures
Patent Examiners must adhere to in their decisions. To what extent did the Patent Examiners you
worked with adhere to the following rules and procedures with respect to:

Not At
All

Small
Extent

Moderate
Extent

Large
Extent

Don’t
Know/Not
Applicable

a. Citing appropriate prior art











b. Treating all claims











c. Providing enough information to
advance prosecution
d. Substantively addressing your
responses to Office Actions
e. Following appropriate restriction
practice































REJECTIONS PRACTICE

6. Consider all rejections you have received over the past 3 months. How often do you think the
rejections made under the following statutes were reasonable in terms of being technically,
legally, and logically sound with respect to:

a. 35 U.S.C. 101 Rejections
b. 35 U.S.C. 102 Rejections
c. 35 U.S.C. 103 Rejections
d. 35 U.S.C. 112 Rejections,
Paragraph 1
e. 35 U.S.C. 112 Rejections,
Paragraph 2

Rarely

Some of
the
Time

Most of
the
Time

All of
the
Time

Don’t
Know/Not
Applicable









































OVERALL EXAMINATION QUALITY
7. In the past 3 months, how would you rate overall examination quality….







Very Poor
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent

8. In the past 3 months, has overall examination quality….







Significantly Declined
Slightly Declined
Stayed the Same
Slightly Improved
Significantly Improved

9. In the past 3 months, have you experienced problems with the consistency of examination quality
from one examiner to another?





Yes, to a large degree
Yes, to a small degree
No

REJECTIONS UNDER 35 U.S.C. 112
10. Please provide any comments you have about examiners’ rejections, or lack of rejections, under
35 U.S.C. 112 when examining claims containing functional language.

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11. You may be selected to participate in this survey again. If you are interested in completing this
survey online, please provide your email address below:

Thank you for completing this survey.
Your information will be invaluable as we improve the quality
of our services for you, our customer!