MPEP Section 1704, Application Records and Reports

Executive summary:

This document contains Section 1704 ("Application Records and Reports") of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (the "M.P.E.P."), Eighth Edition, Eighth Revision (July 2010). This page was last updated in January 2011. You may return to the section index to find a particular section. Alternatively, you may search the MPEP using the search box that appears on the left side of every page of BitLaw--you may restrict your search to the MPEP on the search results page.

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1704 Application Records and Reports [R-8]

The PALM (Patent Application Locating and Monitoring) System is the automated data management system used by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the retrieval and/or online updating of the computer record of each patent application. The PALM System also maintains examiner time, activity, >and< docket >records<, and technical support staff backlog records.

Information retrieval from PALM is by means of the PALM intranet. Transactions are entered via bar code readers, by keyed entries, or by making an appropriate choice in a drop down menu. Among other items, classification, examiner docket, attorney, inventor, status, and prosecution history data as well as the location of each paper application can be retrieved and updated online with PALM.

I.     DOCKET REPORTS

The recording of changes to examiner dockets is accomplished by PALM simultaneously with the recording of incoming and outgoing communications, transfers of applications to and from dockets, and other types of updating of the application record. The status of each examiner's docket can be determined by means of the PALM intranet and is supplemented by periodic printed or electronic reports. Docket reports that are generated by PALM include the individual examiner new * and amended docket which lists applications >as regular, special, or accelerated applications< in priority order; the individual examiner rejected application docket; the individual examiner new application profile, which lists the totals of new applications in each docket, sorted by month of filing; and various summaries of the above reports at the art unit, Technology Center (TC), and corps levels.

II.     BIWEEKLY TIME AND ACTIVITY REPORTS

All reporting of examiner time and activity is on a biweekly basis. Each examiner's examining and non-examining time, as **>entered in the Web Time and Attendance System is used by PALM< in the computation of productivity data. The biweekly reports produced include the individual Biweekly Examiner Time and Activity Report which lists, by application number, all applications for which actions have been counted during the biweekly period. The type of action counted for each application is also indicated on the report. This report also includes examiner time data, an action summary, and cumulative summaries to date for the current quarter and fiscal year. Various summary reports at the Art Unit, TC, and Corps levels are also produced.