The Patent Quality Cookbook: Identifying Perception Gaps at the USPTO
Authors
Richard Howard Hayes, Brittany Marie Kyer, Emily Catherine Weber
Sponsor
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Advisors
Fred J. Looft, Brigitte Servatius
Term
October – December 2015
Project Outcomes
Abstract
Our project had two main goals: to investigate the gaps in the perception of patent prosecution quality at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and to develop an instruction manual on how to conduct case studies for the Office of Patent Quality Assurance. We examined six sources for perceptions of quality, 3 internal sources and 3 external sources, and developed a perception gap matrix to highlight the gaps and emphasize the importance of focus on certain key areas. Additionally, we used multiple sources of information to design a case study “cookbook” that presents a definition of case studies and their components. These two deliverables work together to help the USPTO identify areas in need of improvement and then design studies to address comments put forth by the public.