TRADEMARK PUBLIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction. ............................................................................................................................ 1 II. Report Highlights. ................................................................................................................... 3 A. Trademark Operations. ....................................................................................................... 3 B. IT and E Government Issues. .............................................................................................. 3 C. Budget and Funding Issues. ................................................................................................ 3 D. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. ................................................................................... 4 E. Policy and International Affairs. ......................................................................................... 4 III. Discussion of Specific Issues. ................................................................................................. 4 A. Trademark Operations Performance. .................................................................................. 4 1. Performance Statistics. .................................................................................................... 4 2. Quality and Training. ...................................................................................................... 7 3. Initiatives Completed in FY 2018. .................................................................................. 9 4. Ongoing Initiatives........................................................................................................ 14 B. IT and E-Government Issues. ........................................................................................... 17 1. The Office of the Chief Information Officer (“OCIO”). .............................................. 17 2. IT Accomplishments. .................................................................................................... 17 3. Modernization. .............................................................................................................. 18 4. Phases of TMNG........................................................................................................... 18 5. TMNG Successes and Issues. ....................................................................................... 20 6. Cost of TMNG. ............................................................................................................. 22 7. Stabilization: Trademark Legacy Systems.................................................................... 23 8. Accomplishments in FY18 for Trademark Legacy Systems. ....................................... 23 9. Overall Concerns. ......................................................................................................... 24 C. Budget and Funding Issues. .............................................................................................. 24 1. Fees Collected. .............................................................................................................. 24 2. Impact of 2017 Fee Adjustment. ................................................................................... 25 3. Financial Advisory Board. ............................................................................................ 25 4. Direct v. Indirect Spending. .......................................................................................... 25 5. Spending in Trademarks for Trademark Information Technology. .............................. 26 6. Trademark funding of Regional Offices. ...................................................................... 26 D. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. ................................................................................. 26 1. Efforts to Declutter the Trademark Register. ................................................................ 27 2. Revisions to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure. ..................... 28 3. Information Technology Changes. ................................................................................ 29 4. Standard Protective Order. ............................................................................................ 29 5. Personnel. ...................................................................................................................... 30 6. Performance Statistics. .................................................................................................. 30 7. Trends in Metrics. ......................................................................................................... 32 8. Precedential Decisions. ................................................................................................. 33 E. Policy and International Affairs. ....................................................................................... 33 1. IP Attaché Program. ...................................................................................................... 33 2. Technical Assistance. .................................................................................................... 34 3. WIPO. ........................................................................................................................... 35 4. World Trade Organization (“WTO”). ........................................................................... 36 i 5. ICANN. ......................................................................................................................... 37 6. Hague Conference on Private International Law. ......................................................... 37 7. The Five Trademark Offices. ........................................................................................ 37 8. Domestic Federal Agency Counsel Trademark Bootcamp & Outreach. ...................... 38 9. Domestic Legislative Proposal regarding Section 2(b). ............................................... 38 10. Domestic Local Counsel Requirement. ........................................................................ 39 11. Domestic Dairy Industry Concerns with Examination of Geographic Matter. ............ 39 ii Trademark Public Advisory Committee Fiscal Year 2018 Annual Report ____________________________________________________________________________ I. Introduction. This is the nineteenth annual report of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee (“TPAC”). This report reviews the trademark operations of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO” or “Office”) for the Fiscal Year (“FY”) ending September 30, 2018. Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 5(d)(2), this report is submitted within 60 days following the end of the federal fiscal year and is transmitted to the President, the Secretary of Commerce and the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives. This report is submitted for publication in the Official Gazette of the USPTO. The report will be available to the public on the USPTO website, www.uspto.gov. TPAC acknowledges the contributions the USPTO has made by providing facts, figures and performance statistics relied upon in this report. TPAC appreciates that throughout the fiscal year the Office not only responded to TPAC’s questions, but often the Office requested input from TPAC and thoughtfully considered TPAC’s feedback on relevant issues. It is an honor to work with professionals so dedicated to improving the USPTO, the quality of services provided, and the customer experience. TPAC’s mission and duties, which are specified in enabling legislation, 35 U.S.C. § 5(b)(1) and (d)(1), are “to represent the interests of diverse users” of the USPTO and to “review the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees” of the USPTO with respect to trademarks, and to advise the Director on these matters. As of the end of FY 2018, the following individuals were voting members of TPAC: • Dee Ann Weldon-Wilson (Chair), Nashville, Tennessee (term ends December 1, 2018) • William G. Barber (Vice Chair), Member, Pirkey Barber PLLC, Austin, Texas (term ends December 1, 2019) • Lisa A. Dunner, Managing Partner, Dunner Law PLLC, Washington, D.C. (term ends December 1, 2018) • Elisabeth Escobar, Vice President and Senior Counsel, Marriott International, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland (term ends December 1, 2020) • Anne Gilson LaLonde, Author, Gilson on Trademarks, South Burlington, Vermont (term ends December 1, 2020) • Mei-lan Stark, Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel Intellectual Property, NBCUniversal Media, LLC, Universal City, California (term ends December 1, 2018) I-1495934.6 • Ilene B. Tannen, Of Counsel, Jones Day, New York, New York (term ends December 1, 2019) • Donna A. Tobin, Partner and Co-Chair of the Trademark & Brand Management Group and Member of the Litigation Group, Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein & Selz, PC, New York, New York (term ends December 1, 2020) • Brian Winterfeldt, Principal, Winterfeldt IP Group, Washington, D.C. and New York, New York (term ends December 1, 2019) In addition to the above voting members, the following people are non-voting TPAC members representing the membership of USPTO unions: • Harold Ross of the National Treasury Employees Union (“NTEU”) Chapter 243 • Howard Friedman of NTEU Chapter 245 • Tamara Kyle of the Patent Office Professional Association During FY 2018, there were five TPAC subcommittees: