TRADEMARK PUBLIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2019 UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction. .......................................................................................................................... 1 II. Report Highlights. ................................................................................................................. 2 A. Transitions within the USPTO. ....................................................................................... 2 B. Public Meetings and Hearing. .......................................................................................... 3 C. Trademark Operations. .................................................................................................... 3 D. IT and E-Government Issues. .......................................................................................... 3 E. Budget and Funding Issues. ............................................................................................. 4 F. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. .............................................................................. 4 G. Policy and International Affairs. ..................................................................................... 4 III. Discussion of Specific Issues. ................................................................................................ 5 A. Trademark Operations Performance. ............................................................................ 5 1. Performance Statistics. ................................................................................................. 5 a. Increase in Applications. .......................................................................................... 5 b. Electronic Filing and Communication. ................................................................... 5 c. Balanced Disposals Higher. ...................................................................................... 5 d. Total Office Disposals Higher. ................................................................................. 6 e. Average First-Action Pendency in Target Range. ................................................. 6 f. Average Total Pendency Better than Target. ......................................................... 6 g. Overall. ....................................................................................................................... 7 2. Quality and Training. ................................................................................................... 7 a. Compliance Rate. ...................................................................................................... 7 b. Exceptional Office Action Standard........................................................................ 7 c. Training Law Offices. ............................................................................................... 8 d. TORCH Training. ..................................................................................................... 8 e. Nice Classification 11th Edition Training. ............................................................... 8 f. Examining Attorney Training. ................................................................................ 8 3. Initiatives Completed in FY 2019. ............................................................................... 9 a. Examination Guides.................................................................................................. 9 b. ID Manual. ................................................................................................................. 9 c. MyUSPTO Enhancements. .................................................................................... 10 d. Rulemaking. ............................................................................................................. 10 (1) Requirement of U.S. Licensed Attorney for Foreign Trademark Applicants and Registrants................................................................................................ 10 (2) Mandatory Electronic Filing. ......................................................................... 11 4. Ongoing Initiatives. ..................................................................................................... 11 a. Regulatory Reform. ................................................................................................ 11 b. Efforts to Improve the Accuracy of Identifications of Goods or Services in Registrations. ........................................................................................................... 12 c. Fraudulent Solicitations. ........................................................................................ 12 d. Specimen Database. ................................................................................................ 12 e. IP Security Enhancements. .................................................................................... 13 B. IT and E-Government Issues: Focus on Stabilization and Modernization .................... 13 1. The Office of the Chief Information Officer (“OCIO”). ......................................... 13 2. Stabilize trademark systems. ..................................................................................... 14 i 3. Modernize trademark systems................................................................................... 15 4. Overall Concerns. ....................................................................................................... 18 C. Budget and Funding Issues. ........................................................................................... 18 1. Fee Collection. ............................................................................................................. 18 2. Proposed Fee Adjustment. ......................................................................................... 19 3. Financial Advisory Board. ......................................................................................... 19 4. Direct v. Indirect Spending. ....................................................................................... 19 5. Spending in Trademarks for Trademark Information Technology. ..................... 20 6. Enterprise Services (formerly Shared Services). ..................................................... 20 7. Trademark Operations Revenues. ............................................................................ 20 D. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. ............................................................................ 21 1. Efforts to Declutter the Trademark Register. .......................................................... 22 2. Revisions to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure. ............. 23 3. Standard Protective Order. ........................................................................................ 24 4. Personnel. ..................................................................................................................... 25 5. Performance Measures and Statistics. ...................................................................... 25 6. Precedential Decisions. ............................................................................................... 27 7. Proposed Fee Adjustments and New Fees. ............................................................... 28 E. Policy and International Affairs. ................................................................................... 28 1. IP Attaché Program. ................................................................................................... 28 2. Technical Assistance. .................................................................................................. 29 3. Bad Faith Filings and Conduct. ................................................................................. 29 4. Anti-counterfeiting. ..................................................................................................... 30 5. WIPO. .......................................................................................................................... 30 a. WIPO Standing Committee on Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications. ...................................................................................... 30 b. WIPO Working Group on the Legal Development of the Madrid System. ...... 31 6. ICANN. ........................................................................................................................ 32 7. Hague Conference on Private International Law. ................................................... 32 8. The TM5. ..................................................................................................................... 32 a. Annual Meeting, November 1 – 2, 2018. ............................................................... 32 b. Midterm Meeting. ................................................................................................... 33 9. Domestic Legislative Proposal Regarding Section 2(b). .......................................... 33 10. U.S. Counsel Requirement. ........................................................................................ 33 ii Trademark Public Advisory Committee Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Report ____________________________________________________________________________ I. Introduction. This is the twentieth annual report of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee (“TPAC”). This report reviews the trademark operations of the United States