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PTO PULSE - MARCH 1998

African American History Month Celebrated at the PTO

By Anita O'Neal
The opening ceremony to the closing ceremony, the African American History Month Celebration, as presented by the African American Employment Subcommittee, highlighted and promoted the significant achievements of African Americans to society.    Jahi Wise, 11 years old and one of the youngest members of the Washington Metropolitan Area Young Speakers Association, delivered a charismatic and enthusiastic keynote address at the opening ceremony.

Lutrelle Parker Celebration

Following the kick-off celebration, a program was held to honor Lutrelle Parker, PTO's most celebrated African American trailblazer.

Parker accomplished many firsts at the PTO. His list of firsts include being the first African American to hold the position of Examiner in Chief (now Chief Administrative Patent Judge) on the Board of Patent Appeals, being the first Deputy Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, and being the first Acting Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks.

In addition to his stellar performance at the PTO, Parker had a brilliant military career in the Navy and Naval Reserve. He was one of the earliest African American Naval Officers. He became a Captain and became the Commanding Officer of Reserve Crew U.S.S. Steinaker, U.S.S. Allen Sumner, Military Training Division 5-1, and a Shore Patrol Station in New York City. Another first for Captain Parker was commanding officer of Destroyer Atlantic Detachment 406.

Parker did not limit his remarkable accomplishments to his military and government careers. He was just as active and zealous in civic activities in Arlington County, where he was a long time resident. His community accomplishments include: first African American to serve as a member and Chairman of the Arlington County Planning Commission, member of the Arlington County Zoning Appeals Board, Board of Management of the Veterans Memorial YMCA, Board of Visitors of George Mason University (where he was instrumental in starting the University's Law School), and Chairman of the Long Range Planning andZoning Committee.

Among those paying tribute to this exceptional African American were the Honorable Robert Mallett, Deputy Secretary of Commerce; the Honorable William Newman, Judge, Arlington County Circuit Court; Commander Jimmy R. Bobbitt, United States Navy; Michael Kirk, Executive Director, American Intellectual Property Law Association; Honorable Gerald Mossinghoff, former Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks; and, the Rev. Dr. Leonard Smith, Pastor, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Arlington, Virginia.

Other Activities/Celebrations Included

Also, during the month of February, the African American Employment Subcommittee sponsored Black history trivia games, fitness classes at the PTO Fitness Center, workshops, lunchtime forums, jazz concerts, and much more.

At the all-hands celebration, the audience was razzled and dazzled by a stilt walker and the Kankouran West Aftrican Dance Company. The programs presented during African American History month were informative and motivational.

Commissioner's Corner
A famous man once said, "Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated." I would like to amend that remark to "rumors of my departure are greatly exaggerated." I know that rumors have been floating around for the last year that I am leaving, I have resigned, I have been removed. The only one that hasn't circulated-at least I haven't heard it--is that I've been abducted by aliens.

Rumors are like jokes: who knows their true origin? Some people say jokes are created by prison inmates. I believe that the source of many jokes, as well as rumors, is the Internet. So when you are "surfing in cyberspace," don't believe everything you read or hear. Believe your eyes and know that I am here and still engaged in Patent and Trademark Office business.

One more thing to believe: Even if I were to be abducted by aliens and left the Patent and Trademark Office, there will be solid and effective leadership to carry on that business. The PTO has an outstanding cadre of very talented career Senior Executive Service officials.

I am confident that the PTO management team, and all of you, will play a strong role in developing, establishing, and maintaining our course into the next century.

"A Moment in Time:

The Art of Photography"

Now on Exhibition at the Patent and Trademark Museum

in Crystal Park Two, Suite 0100

Visit the museum today!


A SMALL STORY ABOUT A BIG PRODUCT

One thing parents soon learn is that kids want to emulate adults. They like to imitate adults, and they like toys which mirror the adult environment around them. Many popular toys are simply miniature versions of adult gadgets, like tools, appliances, and such. One of the most popular is the miniature car, and the big maker of miniature cars is Matchbox®. Think GM or Ford has made a lot of cars over the years? Matchbox has made over 2 billion. A good part of their popularity involves a crucial aspect of most toys of this type: They are true scaled down representations of actual vehicles. Hold a Matchbox model in front of you as you look at the real life car it replicates, turn the model to the right angle, and you will see how faithful a reproduction it is. How do they make their little cars faithful to the shape and appearance of the original, life-size cars? The answer has a lot to do with hard work, and a little to do with Thomas Jefferson, who was our first de facto patent examiner.

Matchboxes were created in 1953 by an engineer named Jack Odell who worked for a diecasting and molding company located in an abandoned British pub called The Rifleman. Odell had a daughter who had just started school, and wanted to bring in something for show and tell. The children were only permitted to bring in objects that could fit into a matchbox, so Odell made a miniature steamroller out of brass for his daughter to take to school. The miniature was a hit with her classmates, and Odell made a mold and cast more for her friends. The company Odell worked for, Lesney products, had been looking for something to manufacture during the winter months when their regular work orders dried up, and so the first series of seventy five Matchbox miniatures sold in replica matchboxes began production.

Nowadays, the creation of a new Matchbox model starts with an actual vehicle. Lots of photos and measurements are taken, and a reduced scale model is generated from the photos and measurements. How is this done? Obviously, the easiest way is to just scale down the photos and measurements to the size of the actual Matchbox-size model and make a master copy for the casting dies, right? Actually, even if the photos could be reduced so drastically without distortions due to lens aberrations, this small scale is not easy for model makers to work with. What they do instead is make a model scaled in between the full size car and the final product. After checking the accuracy of the model against the photos and measurements, they use a special milling machine which incorporates an ancient device called a "pantograph". This pantograph milling machine allows them to make a reduced-scale copy in three dimensions of the "in between" scale model. The smaller scale model is then used to create the die from which the product is made.

The pantograph used to be popularly attributed to Thomas Jefferson. He didn't invent the pantograph, but he was indeed fascinated with and made use of a variation called the "polygraph" (no, not the so-called "lie detector" of the 20th century) which allowed one or more duplicates to be made while writing letters. This "polygraph" was invented and patented in 1803 by John Isaac Hawkins. Jefferson was fascinated with the device, and used it regularly. He sent it to Charles Wilson Peale, who began making polygraphs and improving the mechanism, using his own ideas or those suggested by Jefferson.

The pantograph was actually invented by German Christophe Scheiner around 1605. Scheiner was a Jesuit who attempted to defend the Roman Catholic church's criticism of Galileo's theory that the earth revolves around the sun. He tried to show that sunspots1 were actually planets. Scheiner is also credited with showing that the retina is the basis for human vision, and with creating one of the first terrestrial telescopes.

Scheiner's pantograph has been put to numerous uses over the centuries, from scaling photos, drawings, letter type, engravings, to copying, enlarging, or reducing in scale both two dimensional and three dimensional works of art. Modern photocopiers now take the place of the pantograph for copying documents and other two dimensional images (thank patent attorney Chester Carlson, inventor of xerography), but even if holographic or computerized three dimensional imaging is developed enough to make computer-controlled milling practical, I suspect the pantograph is probably still the more affordable way to go.

________

1 A central tenet of the church's beliefs, based on the Copernican model of the universe, was that the sun and stars were perfect and unchanging. The blemishes Galileo found on the surface of the sun contradicted this view.

President Clinton Names Q.Todd Dickinson

as Deputy Assistant Secretary and Deputy Commissioner

of the Patent and Trademark Office

President Clinton, last month, announced his intent to nominate Q. Todd Dickinson as Deputy Assistant Secretary and Deputy Commissioner of the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) at the Department of Commerce.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary and Deputy Commissioner for PTO is responsible for maintaining and developing the Patent and Trademark System of the United States, as well as, proposing policy and programmatic changes in the system to the President, the Secretary of Commerce, and Congress. He also promotes the development of more cost effective and efficient intellectual property systems and advocates increased protection of the rights of U.S. citizens throughout the world.

Mr. Q. Todd Dickinson, of Philadelphia, Pa., most recently served as counsel for the Philadelphia-based law firm of Dechert, Price and Rhoads. Dickinson has an extensive knowledge in the area of intellectual property law and management, representing individual inventors, educational institutions, small businesses and corporate clients. From 1990 to 1995, he served as Chief Counsel, Intellectual Property and Technology, for the Sun Company, having the primary legal and management responsibility for all matters relating to intellectual property.

He also served as Counsel for the Chevron Corp., San Francisco, California from 1981 to 1990, and as an attorney with Baxter Travenol Laboratories Inc. in Deerfield, Ill., and Blenko, Buell, Ziesenheim and Beck in Pittsburgh, Pa., specializing in intellectual property matters.

Mr. Dickinson received a B.S. degree in chemistry from Allegheny College and a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh Law School, and is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the International Trademark Association and the Copyright Society of the U.S.A.

 

Automated Search Tools at the PTO

A fundamental premise of the Patent and Trademark Office's automation efforts is to provide the capability for the rapid retrieval of complete and accurate patent information by all examiners. Now, at the beginning of 1998, is a good time to review some of the new automated search tools that have been deployed in the past few months and to note the versatility and flexibility they give in the critical task of searching patent prior art.

In November 1997, two powerful image search tools were provided to every examiner's desktop workstation:

Image Search and Retrieval (IS&R). For patent searching based on the U. S. Patent Classification System, this is the automated tool of choice. The Image Search & Retrieval system offers rapid and accurate access to all U.S. patents, back to Patent Number 1 in 1790. With a "Flip Rate" of better than one image (page) per second, the system delivers all patent figures and the complete text in an exceptionally user-friendly fashion. Further, text and drawings can be "Copied and Pasted" into other automated Office action applications, including ActionWriter.

Integrated Patent Search System (IPSS). This Web-based tool makes use of concepts and functionality that were unknown at the time when patent automation was first conceived. One of the Integrated Patent Search System's unique features is the linking of the results of a text search to the complete image of the patent "hits". With IPSS, the APS text database from 1971 has hyperlinks to patent images. With this automated search tool every examiner can now view on the screen of their desktop workstation the complete patent document that was retrieved by their text search.

With these new ways of searching, viewing and retrieving patents, examiners do not have to travel to search rooms in their quest to find patent prior art. Instead, patents can be searched and printed from the convenience of their desktop workstations. With Image Search and Retrieval and the Integrated Patent Search System, examiners have more searching options at their fingertips. They can perform automated traditional Class/Subclass searches, and are also able to do text searches and then retrieve images of their "hits."

Of particular benefit to examiners, especially in active arts, is the achievement of virtually perfect file integrity since the patent documents will always be available. No longer will examiners be faced with the situation that someone else has pulled a particular patent that they were looking for. Further, concerns that a needed reference was misfiled are eliminated - every patent is available to every examiner, classified according to the latest classification schedule. Searching with these new desktop search tools is also efficient, since duplicate copies of patents can be automatically eliminated when multiple subclasses are searched.

When viewing references at their workstations, examiners are able to "tag" those patents they think are relevant to the particular patent application they are working on. Then, examiners have the option of printing a copy of the tagged references, either at a high-speed printer, or in the case of the Image Search and Retrieval system, at their personal printer.

Both new image search tools provide a high degree of freedom to magnify portions of documents at the examiner's discretion. No longer are examiners limited to reading the relatively small 9-point patent text. The magnification capabilities of the image search tools permit each individual to select the degree of magnification desirable at any instant, at any location on any page.

An examiner can copy selected figures and text found during an image search, and then paste them into an Office action while using ActionWriter. This allows an examiner to direct an applicant's attention to pertinent areas of a reference with a few mouse clicks and with a minimum of typing. This feature can be especially useful in explaining the applicability of a patent reference to specific claim language.

Image Search and Retrieval and the Integrated Patent Search System are complements to the two Global Patent Information search clients that were deployed to all examiners in the spring of 1997. With this suite of automated search tools, all examiners now have desktop workstation access to all U.S patents, as well as EPO and JPO foreign patent documents.

With the deployment of IS&R, IPSS and the Global Patent search clients in 1997, the first in a series of powerful automated searching capabilities have been provided to all examiners. These automated search tools will continue to be improved in functionality and refined with respect to ease of use, as part of an ongoing assessment process. Further, new automated searching capabilities, including expanded electronic access to foreign patent information and desktop workstation access to non patent literature, are on the horizon for 1998. The total number of automated searching tools will shrink as future development efforts consolidate and integrate the features and functionality into those that remain.

The benefits of automated searching are now available to all examiners. With these automated tools, the quality of our work products and the service we provide to our customers is greatly enhanced. Patent examiners now have many options in deciding how best to search for patent information relevant to patentability of an application. That flexibility will only increase as our automated search tools continue to evolve.


Solicitor's Office Case Note Summaries

By Linda Moncys Isacson & Scott A. Chambers

The following case note summaries highlight some recent cases relevant to PTO practice. If you have any questions, please contact Scott A. Chambers or Linda Moncys Isacson in the Office of the Solicitor by e-mail or phone at 305-9035. A more comprehensive version of case notes will be available on the PTO Solicitor's Office home page. Meanwhile, if you would like to receive a paper copy of the complete case notes, please contact our office. Full text versions of all of these cases are available on the Internet at (www.law.emory.edu/FEDCTS/).

Narrow Disclosure Results in Narrow Claim Breadth: In Gentry Gallery, Inc. v. Berkline Corp., Nos. 97-1076, -1104, -1182 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 27, 1998), the Federal Circuit invalidated certain broad claims asserted in an infringement action for lack of written description under 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 1. Gentry's specification described a sectional sofa having two reclining seats facing in the same direction with controls in a fixed console between the recliners. The broadest asserted claims did not limit the location of the controls to a fixed console. The original disclosure clearly identified the console as the only possible location for the controls, suggesting no variations. Furthermore, the only disclosed purpose of the console was to house the controls. Thus, the court found that the inventor clearly considered the location of the controls on the console to be an essential element of the invention. Accordingly, the broadest claims were not supported by the written description in the specification. The court rejected Gentry's arguments that the description was merely directed to a preferred embodiment, noting that the case law does not "stand for the proposition that an applicant can broaden his claims to the extent that they are effectively bounded only by the prior art." Rather, "claims may be no broader than the supporting disclosure, and therefore that a narrow disclosure will limit claim breadth."

Claim Language, Written Description and Prosecution History All Influence Claim Interpretation: In Phonometrics, Inc. v. Northern Telecom Inc., No. 96-1469 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 15, 1998), Phonometrics appealed the summary judgment of noninfringement of its claim directed to a device for calculating the cost of long distance phone calls. The claim called for a "substantially instantaneous display of cumulative call cost in dollars and cents." Phonometrics argued that the claim term only required a display of total cost when the call was terminated. The Federal Circuit disagreed, concluding that the claim required "real-time display of cost accumulations," based on the plain meaning of the claim language, the written description in the specification and the prosecution history. Specifically, the court noted that other clauses of claim 1 used the term "substantially instantaneously" to indicate continuously updated information. The court emphasized that "a word or phrase used consistently throughout a claim should be interpreted consistently." Additionally, the preferred embodiment provided a real time display. The court noted: "Although claims are not necessarily restricted in scope to what is shown in a preferred embodiment, neither are the specifics of the preferred embodiment irrelevant to the correct meaning of claim limitations." Finally, statements in the prosecution history emphasized the incremental adding of charges during the phone call to distinguish prior art. The court rejected Phonometrics argument that this reading of the claim imported limitations from the written description, explaining that the claim was properly construed "in light of" the specification. The Federal Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court properly construed the claim and that summary judgment of noninfringement was correct.







Employee Spotlight

Commissioner Bruce Lehman recently recognized five employees with the Support Staff Employee of the Quarter Award for the Fourth quarter of fiscal year 1997. These employees were congratulated for their significant contributions to the PTO. The recipients were:

Margaret E. Bassford is a Legal Instruments Examiner in the Office of Public Records. Margaret was recognized, in part, for the exemplary manner in which she demonstrates how productivity, quality, teamwork and organizational goals can be accomplished silmultaneously, and for unfailingly providing professional and courteous customer service.

Dawn Brewer is a Legal Documents Review Clerk in Technology Center 3600. Dawn was honored, in part, for the exceptional manner in which she performed additional docketing responsibilities while maintaining high productivity without compromising quality, and for her strong commitment to providing internal and external customers with expeditious and professional service. Dawn was honored for her contributions to former Patent Examining Group 3100.

Betty J. Simms is a Legal Documents Review Clerk in Technology Center 3600. Betty was recognized, in part, for producing large volumes of work in an error-free manner, and for exhibiting customer service attributes which make her an ideal role model for others to emulate. Betty was recognized for her contributions to former Patent Examining Group 3500.

Bernice L. Smith is a Program Assistant for the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program, Center for Patent and Trademark Information. Bernice was honored, in part, for the dedicated support she provides to this program and its associated network of 83 Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries, and for demonstrating exceptional effectiveness in the execution of her myriad duties.

Leneetha Thompson is a Legal Documents Review Clerk in Patent Examining Group 3400. Leneetha was recognized, in part, for her commitment to producing quality, responsive work products, and for her ability to actuate a positive and cooperative attitude when it comes to helping out her co-workers and supervisors whenever she is needed or called upon.

 

PTO Pulse Info Line

. . . The Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program will hold its XXI Seminar March 23-27, 1998 at the Crystal City Marriott. . . . Join an exciting celebration of American Innovation at the 25th annual Inventors Expo at Epcot Walt Disney World on March 13th -15th. In recognition of the vital role intellectual property plays in our economy, the PTO and IPO will co-sponsor a unique opportunity for the creators of intellectual property to share their patented products. There will be 65 exhibitors this year . . . A new Strategic Information Technology Plan is available in the Chief Infomation Officer's (CIO) office. To meet the challenges of the future, the PTO has developed an ambitious strategic agenda to help position the agency to operate more efficiently in the 21st century. Printed copies of both the plan and Executive Overview can be obtained from the CIO Technical Plans and Policy Staff, Crystal Park 2, 10th floor, room H1001. . . During the month of March, a new PTO Computer Housekeeping User's Guide will be distributed PTO-wide. This guide will describe how, when, and where to back-up your data, how to manage your disk space, and how to use LANDesk virus detection software. This guides also contains PTO's Rules of the Road for computer equipment . . The Office of Public Affairs would like to welcome Frankie C. Cox to the PTO. Frankie will serve as a Public Affairs Specialist. . . The Patent Examiner Job Applications now On-line. This new tool allows you to apply for PTO employment over the Internet. Check it out !!!

PTO Partnership Signings and Visitors

PTO's Partnership Council signing a new Partnership Agreement on Emergency Dismissal Policies and Procedures. Pictured from left to right: Howard D. Friedman, President, NTEU, Chapter 245; Ronald J. Stern, President, Patent Office Professional Association; Ollie M. Person, President, NTEU, Chapter 243; Bruce Lehman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks.

PTO and POPA signing a partnership agreement for the new patent rules. Standing from left to right: Paula Hutzell, Laura Wilmot, Art Grimley, Janice Howell, Andres Kashnikow, Karen Hastings, Howard Locker, Vin Luong, Joe Valenza, and Kathy Duda. Seated from left to right: Nick Godici, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Patents and Ron Stern, POPA President.

A Visitor to the PTO

Lawrence Goffney, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Deputy Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, with Mirtcho Mirtchev, the President of the Bulgarian Patent Office.

PTO University Sharing the Vision and the Success

By Karen Barley

The students of PTO University really know how to study, take tests, and earn good grades. The recent PTO University Anniversary Celebration showed that these students also know how to enjoy a good party! Over 200 current and potential students attended the celebration that marked four years of academic service at PTO. Guests were able to meet with representatives from the three partner colleges-Northern Virginia Community College, Marymount University, and Syracuse University-as well as check into the wide course offerings available through the Workforce Effectiveness Division.

Ms. Gloria Gutiérrez, Administrator for Human Resources and Public Affairs, started the celebration with some brief words about the growing support of PTO University. Edward Kazenske, Associate Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks and Chief Financial Officer; Philip Hampton, II, Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks; and Alethea Long-Green, Director of Human Resources, commented about their own experiences with PTO University celebrations, with special attention on the annual Graduation Ceremony.

These representatives were quick to point out Ms. Long-Green's initial vision and persistent promotion of the corporate learning institute concept. Ms. Long-Green has worked diligently over the past four years to share the vision, share the commitment, and share the success of PTO University.

PTO University presented each representative with a silver Jefferson Cup engraved with the PTO University logo as a symbol of their shared responsibility in making PTO-U such an integral part of the agency. Ron Flood from the Office of Patent Policy Dissemination and Stephanie Graham of the Office of Finance each took home door prizes provided by Northern Virginia Community College. All attendees received a mouse pad to use at the office and a generous slice of chocolate cake!

This celebration even caught the attention of Debra Tomchek, Director of Human Resource Management from the Department of Commerce, who joined in the praise of PTO-U and remarked on the long-lasting difference that this program is making at PTO. The students and staff of PTO University realize this truth everyday through their continued dedication to academic and workplace excellence. Here's to four more years of educational commitment at PTO!

Office of Electronic Information Products Customer Services Program

By Jean Buckhout and Meg Gilbert

The Customer Services Program (CSP) is part of the Office of Electronic Information Products (OEIP) within the Information Dissemination Organizations (IDO). It performs a variety of roles in support of the IDO mission to promote awareness of and provide effective access to patent and trademark information.

These roles include:

What's available?

In response to telephone inquires about the availability of PTO products and services, the Customer Services Program answers questions and provides customers with order forms, catalogs, and brochures. For example, the free Cassis Sampler disc, which contains a sample of all CD-ROM products, is often sent to potential customers for a "hands-on" demonstration of the products. While the Customer Services Program's primary focus is on the electronic information products and services of OEIP (CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, statistical reports, and the PTO's Web site), they often provide information on other products as well.

CSP ensures awareness of all PTO products and services by publishing and distributing the PTO's Products and Services Catalog. The catalog, which is updated annually, contains descriptions of the patent and trademark related products and services, and information about their availability from the PTO and from the Government Printing Office's Superintendent of Documents. Each product listing includes details of the various media available (CD-ROM, diskette, video cassette, printed publications), the price (if any), and ordering information. Items are highlighted that are accessible at no charge from the PTO's Web and FTP sites. The PTO's Products and Services Catalog has a world-wide distribution of over 50,000 printed copies. It can also be viewed on the PTO's Web site.

The Customer Services Program also keeps the public informed by providing the Information Contacts directory. The Information Contacts is an alphabetical listing of PTO offices by subject matter with telephone and fax numbers. This booklet, which is issued quarterly, corresponds to the yellow pages found in the back of the PTO Information Directory.

Customer Services staff creates and updates several informational brochures, which are used to inform the public about new or revised PTO products or services. The Provisional Application for Patent brochure, for example, describes a new filing option for inventors which became available in 1995. The Patent and Trademark Video Collection brochure announces a new series of PTO videos, including Conducting A Patent Search at a PTDL (Patent and Trademark Depository Library). The Public Search Facilities brochure provides a handy reference for the public with the address, telephone number, and hours of operation for each search facility located in Crystal City, VA. It also includes descriptions of each search collection, an explanation of the fees charged for accessing automated systems, and a map of Crystal City.

Where do I order?

The Customer Services Program receives orders for electronic information products by mail and fax, and from walk-in customers. New customer orders are normally shipped the same day that payment is received. Payments may be made by check, credit card, or PTO Deposit Account, and are processed directly to the Office of Finance's RAM (Revenue Accounting and Management ) system. The Customer Services Program also handles the sale of products for other PTO offices. These include the 1997 Final Rule Package Training and Implementation Guide, the Specimen Book of Patent Forms, and PTO's video products.

CSP maintains ordering and sales information in electronic data bases to allow for efficient customer service and accurate record keeping. For example, the CD-ROM customer data base consists of over 1,800 domestic and foreign addresses which represent large and small companies, individuals, patent agents, universities, and libraries, as well as 113 intellectual property organizations, the 83 Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries, and internal PTO customers. These customers purchased 11,228 annual subscriptions to CD-ROM products in fiscal year 1997, which together with single issue CD-ROMs, resulted in the distribution of 11,619 CD-ROM discs and generated over $350,000 in revenue.

Can you answer my Questions?

Customer Services Program staff provides customers with assistance on using the products it distributes, including step-by-step instructions where needed. CD-ROM products generate many of the telephone inquiries CSP receives, which frequently pertain to searching, printing, and display formats. CSP also provides guidance on accessing information on the PTO's Web site, suggestions on additional products and services that might be useful, background information on patents and trademarks, and referrals to other PTO offices and PTDLs for more specialized help.

OEIP's Customer Services Program staff members are Catherine Hollan, Program Manager; Jean Buckhout, Management Analyst; Meg Gilbert, Program Analyst; Carolyn Johnson, Program Assistant; and Sue Rice, Computer Specialist.

The PTO Participates in the President's Welfare Reform Effort

By Amy Wanko

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), along with the Department of Commerce, has taken an active role in the President's welfare reform effort.

Through the collaboration of PTO's Office of Procurement, the Classification & Employment and Workforce Effectiveness Divisions of the Office of Human Resources, a strategy to recruit, select and train welfare recipients for entry level positions was implemented. The Welfare-to-Work Team, sponsored by the WED Office, was tasked with the development of a training center that would ease the transition of these new employees into federal service.

The Workfare Achievement & Development Center's (WADC) training curriculum was specifically designed to facilitate the development of former welfare recipients into productive, competent and successful employees. New employees of the PTO, as well as participants from external Commerce agencies, attended an intensive two-week training course focused on improving self-awareness and administrative skills. Overall, the program was a huge success and anticipates more business in 1998.


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Last Modified: Monday, October 02, 2000 09:22:04