YANG Tiejun, Deputy Commissioner of the SIPO led five automation experts to visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). They had in-depth discussions on cooperation in automation with their US couterparts.

Jon W. Dudas, Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the USPTO hosted the Opening Ceremony of the Expert Group Meeting and met with YANG Tiejun and his delegation. After extending his warm welcome to the delegation, Mr. Dudas briefly reviewed the new developments in their cooperation with the SIPO and expressed his high expectation for future cooperation. He said both offices were facing a greater challenge of a huge backlog from increasing patent filings. He hoped that the two offices could work closely to address this challenge together. Mr. Dudas believed that the SIPO had gained valuable experiences over the years of its rapid growth which would be worth learning for the US. YANG Tiejun thanked Mr. Dujas for taking time off of his busy schedule to meet with the Chinese delegation and congratulated him on the record-breaking trademark and patent applications filed with the USPTO in 2006. YANG Tiejun noted that the USPTO had taken various measures of internal management and reform such as accelerated electronic procedure, improved e-government system and enhanced IP planning. He said that the Chinese expert group would like to have a better understanding of the data exchange, IT infrastructure, IT system of the USPTO.

During the meeting, the visiting Chinese experts briefed their US counterparts on their automation tools and work planning. The US experts introduced the interactive systems between examiners and the public such as electronic application system and patent application information search system; internal systems for examiners such as image packer, whole file parent application, electronic desktop application browser, patent application positioning and monitoring system and examination opinion notice sub-system; search systems for examiners such as automated search tool, network search tool, automated bio-technology sequence-based search tool, computer search system, bibliographic search system, application path. The US experts also demonstrated their publication and home office system. Both parties had fruitful discussions on their respective work. Based on the US presentation, the Chinese experts raised many questions which were answered by the US experts. According to these US experts, certain specific problems remained unsolved though the USPTO had made inspiring progress in its automation initiative and they would like to work together with the Chinese side to seek solutions. 

This automation expert visit is an important part of the Work Plan of Strategic Cooperation signed by Commissioner TIAN and Director Dudas in 2006, which laid out that each office were to establish an automation expert group to meet once every year.

 

2007-04-09

2007-04-09