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USPTO Announces Trademark Dashboard to Help Public Monitor Office Quality
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Published: May 12, 2011
Author: Robert Petershack
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today a "Trademark Dashboard" intended to help the public measure the performance of the USPTO on critical metrics that contribute to examining and registering trademarks - how long it takes to examine the trademark applications ("trademark pendency") and how good the quality of the examination process is. The dashboard can be accessed at: http://www.uspto.gov/dashboards/trademarks/main.dashxml.
According to the USPTO, trademark pendency has reached historically low levels (2.7 months) as measured by the time from filing to first action. The total pendency (i.e., the average time from filing to registration, notice of allowance or abandonment of the application) is now at 10.9 months. The USPTO's goal is to maintain consistent monthly first action pendency within a 2.5 to 3.5 month range with disposal pendency at 12.5 months or less as filings increase and fluctuate on a monthly basis. This lines up well with my recent experience with the USPTO in which I have seen applications handled more quickly than in the past.
The Trademark Dashboard also provides information on application filings, registrations and an assessment of inventory for pending applications as well as new applications awaiting the examining attorney’s first Office action. This information will help the applicants and their attorneys make more informed decisions about their applications. The Trademark Dashboard will be updated quarterly. It will also track the past three years of performance metrics to show trends as well as targets where appropriate. Comments on improvements to the dashboard can be sent to feedback@uspto.gov.
For more information about the USPTO’s Trademark Dashboard or trademark law in general, contact Axley Brynelson Attorney Rob Petershack at 608.283.6718 or rvpetershack@axley.com.
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