Automating the United States Patent and Trademark Office: A plan for the 1990s

To carry out its mission, the United States Patent and Trademark Office processes and examines over 100 000 patent and 60 000 trademark applications annually. The already large body of information against which those applications must be compared is growing rapidly. Since the files are paper and loosely assembled to facilitate searching, their integrity is degrading steadily because of lost or misfiled documents. These factors threaten to compromise the quality, even the viability, of the patent grant and the trademark registration. A cost-effective and technologically reliable alternative to this paper-oriented system is clearly needed. During the past two years, the USPTO has undertaken a major research and planning effort to develop a more efficient process through the use of computer technology. This article highlights the major aspects of a long-range strategy to achieve the goal of a fully automated patent and trademark operation by the year 1990.