The mission of the Office of Patent Legal Administration (OPLA) is
to assist in the development and administration of U.S. patent law, advise
the USPTO on patent examination policy and formulate new regulations, policies,
and procedures regarding patents.
Telephone: (571) 272-7701
OPLA DUTIES
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OPLA provides legal and policy guidance to the Commissioner for
Patents, the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations, the Deputy
Commissioner for Patent Resources and Planning, and the Deputy
Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy.
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OPLA assists in the
development and implementation of patent law, provides means
for its implementation, and formulates the accompanying regulations and practices.
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OPLA monitors specialized programs such as reexamination, reissue and patent
term extension; and assists in
the efforts to negotiate the harmonization of patent
laws and other
international matters.
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OPLA provides MPEP staff with suggested changes to
the MPEP as
a result of changes to the patent rules.
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OPLA is also responsible
for updating a majority of forms used by the patent examining
corps and USPTO customers to reflect changes made to the patent rules
and through policy initiatives.
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OPLA legal advisors and special projects
examiner provide staff assistance on special projects
or studies as may be assigned by the Director of the OPLA, the
Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy or the Commissioner
for Patents. They also prepare reports or other documents as
may be appropriate including studies and papers comparing US
patent law and practices with the patent laws of other countries.
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OPLA staff research case law, appropriate rules, facts-in-evidence,
and other pertinent information; discuss policy
implications with top USPTO management officials; compose
USPTO decisions and either
sign the decision(s) or have the final USPTO decision
signed by the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy or other
top US Patent and Trademark Office management officials.
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OPLA staff represent the USPTO and explain US
patent law and Office policies and procedures in letters, phone
calls, lectures and other contacts with members of the public and the patent
bar.
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OPLA staff decide various petitions and assists the
Office of Petitions in deciding petitions, which
have been delegated to that office for consideration.
CENTRAL
REEXAMINATION UNIT
A Central Reexamination Unit
(CRU) provides administrative, legal, and examination
support for inter partes reexamination
cases. Reexamination is a
complex examination procedure which differs in a number of aspects from
regular patent application examination procedure, from the filing of the
request to the publication of a reexamination certificate. The CRU is professionally
staffed by procedural/legal specialists who provide policy oversight
for primary examiners on the law and procedural aspects
and requirements applicable to inter partes reexamination. The technical
aspects of examination are conducted by the primary examiner. To provide
proper control and handling of reexamination cases, the unit includes
support staff and facilities for case storage, paper handling and processing,
and docket control.
The CRU also serves
as a production unit for scanning ex parte and inter partes reexamination
cases in order to create electronic database files (in an image format)
from which information may be retrieved and printed by members of the
public. Unlike initial archival scanning performed on all new
case in the Office, the CRU continually updates the image database
of reexam files as correspondence is received and/or sent out.
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