Forwarded by Robert Shaddox from the article of the same title. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (08/26/14)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it will host seven roadshow events across the country to increase public understanding of the First Inventor to File (FITF) provisions of the America Invents Act. The roadshow events, which will be hosted between Sept. 16 and Oct. 9, will feature USPTO subject matter experts and stakeholders, and will focus on FITF provisions and updates since March 2013. Experts and stakeholders will speak specifically to inventors and their representatives about filing and prosecuting patent applications under the FITF system in an effort to raise public understanding of the provisions. Topics of discussion will include administrative processes, FITF statistics, the applicability of FITF to new patent applications, the statutory framework and its exceptions, and sample scenarios presented by experts to illustrate the FITF provisions. The roadshow events will be held in Concord, N.H., Madison, Wis., Dallas, Texas, Silicon Valley, Calif., and Atlanta, Ga. Two other roadshow events at USPTO campuses in Alexandria, Va., and Denver, Col., also will be webcast live on USPTO’s website.