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 <title>Patent Reform Now - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
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 <h2>Patent Reform Now!  Mail USPTO before 12 April 2001!</h2>
 
 <address class="byline">by Don Marti &lt;<a
 href="mailto:dmarti@ssc.com">dmarti@ssc.com</a>&gt;</address>
 
 <div class="infobox">
 <p><em>
 [This page remains here for historical interest; we will post the results
  of this campaign when we hear who has been put on the committee.]
 </em></p>
 </div>
 <hr class="thin" />
 
 <p>
 3 April 2001
 </p>
 
 <p>
 Only six working days remain until the deadline arrives to submit
 nominations for the US Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Public
 Advisory Committee.  If you or someone you know has some helpful advice
 for USPTO and is a US citizen willing to serve, please submit a
 nomination. A letter and the person's resume is all you need to send. It
 doesn't take long, and you can do it by e-mail.
 </p>
 
 <p>
 Richard M. Stallman, inventor of notable software innovations
 including the Emacs editor and the software distribution model
 &ldquo;copyleft,&rdquo; is our choice for the committee. Stallman has
 shown reasoned opposition not only to the current trends of patenting
 other people's work and trivial new developments, but also to the
 patentability of mathematical algorithms and business
 methods.  <a href="https://stallman.org/biographies.html#serious">&ldquo;A serious
 bio&rdquo;</a> from his web site is the resume he offers; it
 summarizes his achievements.
 </p>
 
 <p>
 If you a fan of other patent reform advocates, you might consider
 nominating one of them instead of, or in addition to, RMS. Lawrence
 Lessig, Eben Moglen and Tim O'Reilly might all make good committee
 members. Nominate your favorite. Or if you're ready to
 help USPTO
 fix its broken system, get someone to nominate you.
 </p>
 
 <p>
 Last year, Acting Secretary of Commerce Robert L. Mallett appointed <a
 href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201020233115/https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/acting-commerce-secretary-robert-l-mallett-names-members-new-uspto-advisory">an initial
 complement of nine</a> to the committee: six lawyers, two patent-holding
 inventors and two professors. (One of the professors is a professor of
 law, so it adds up to nine, if you're counting.) None are patent reform
 advocates.
 </p>
 
 <p>Here is the original notice from the Federal Register (converted from the
 <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/notices/pubadvcomnom.pdf">
 original PDF file</a> on the USPTO site.)
 </p>
 
 <p>
 Mail <a
 href="mailto:PPACnomination@uspto.gov">&lt;PPACnomination@uspto.gov&gt;</a>
 today.
 </p>
 
 <hr class="thin" />
 
 <p>
 <b>DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
 </b>
 </p>
 <br /><b>United States Patent and Trademark
 Office
 </b>
 
 <br />[Docket No. 000317075103502]
 
 <br />RIN 0651 XX22
 
 <br /><b>Public Advisory Committees</b>
 
 <br /><b>AGENCY:</b> United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
 
 <br /><b>ACTION:</b> Notice and request for nominations.
 
 <p><b>SUMMARY
 </b>
 </p>
 
 <p>On November 29, 1999, the President signed into law the Patent
 and Trademark Office Efficiency Act (the &ldquo;Act&rdquo;), Pub. L. 106113,
 Appendix I, Title IV, Subtitle G, 113 Stat. 1501A 572, which, among
 other things, established two Public Advisory Committees to review the
 policies, goals, performance, budget and user fees of the United States
 Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) with respect to patents, in the case
 of the Patent Public Advisory Committee, and with respect to trademarks,
 in the case of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee, and to advise
 the Director in these matters. The USPTO is requesting nominations for
 three (3) members to each Public Advisory Committee for terms beginning
 on July 13, 2001.
 </p>
 
 <p><b>DATES:</b> Nominations must be postmarked or electronically
 transmitted on or before April 12, 2001.
 </p>
 
 <p><b>ADDRESSES:</b> Persons wishing to submit nominations should
 send the nominee's resume to Chief of Staff, Office of the
 Director of the USPTO, Washington, DC 20231; by electronic mail to
 PPACnomination@uspto.gov for the Patent Public Advisory Committee or
 TPACnomination@uspto.gov for the Trademark Public Advisory Committee;
 by facsimile transmission marked to the Chief of Staff's attention at
 (703) 305-8664; or by mail marked to the Chief of Staff's attention and
 addressed to the Office of the Director of the USPTO, Washington, DC
 20231.
 </p>
 
 <p><b>FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</b> Chief of Staff by facsimile
 transmission marked to his attention at (703) 3058664, or by mail
 marked to his attention and addressed to the Office of the Director of
 the USPTO, Washington, DC 20231.
 </p>
 
 <p><b>SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</b> Under the Act, the then-Acting
 Secretary of Commerce appointed members to the two Patent and Trademark
 Public Advisory Committees on July 13, 2000. The Advisory Committees'
 duties include:
 </p>
 
 <ul>
 <li>Review and advise the Director of the USPTO on matters relating
 to policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of the USPTO
 relating to patents and trademarks, respectively; and</li>
 
 <li>Within 60 days after the end of each fiscal year: (1) Prepare an
 annual report on the matters listed above; (2) transmit the report
 to the Secretary of Commerce, the President, and the Committees on
 the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives; and (3)
 publish the report in the Official Gazette of the USPTO. Members of the
 Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees are appointed by and
 serve at the pleasure of the Secretary of Commerce for three (3)-year
 terms.</li>
 
 </ul>
 
 <p><b>Advisory Committees</b></p>
 
 <p>The Public Advisory Committees are each composed of nine (9)
 voting members who are appointed by the Secretary of Commerce (the
 &ldquo;Secretary&rdquo;) and who have &ldquo;substantial backgrounds and achievement in
 finance, management, labor relations, science, technology, and office
 automation.&rdquo; 35 U.S.C. 5(b)(3). The Public Advisory Committee members
 must be United States citizens and represent the interests of diverse
 users of the USPTO both large and small entity applicants in proportion
 to the number of such applications filed. In the case of the Patent
 Public Advisory Committee, at least twenty-five (25) percent of the
 members must represent &ldquo;small business concerns, independent inventors,
 and nonprofit organizations,&rdquo; and at least one member must represent
 the independent inventors' community. 35 U.S.C. 5(b)(2). Each of the
 Public Advisory Committees also includes three (3) non-voting members
 representing each labor organization recognized by the USPTO.
 </p>
 
 <p><b>Procedures and Guidelines of the Patent and Trademark Public
 Advisory Committees</b></p>
 
 <p>Each newly appointed member of the Patent and Trademark Public
 Advisory Committees will serve for a term of three years. Members
 appointed in the current fiscal year shall serve from July 13, 2001,
 to July 12, 2004. As required by the Act, members of the Patent and
 Trademark Public Advisory Committees will receive compensation for each
 day, including travel time, while the member is attending meetings
 or engaged in the business of that Advisory Committee. The rate of
 compensation is the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay
 in effect for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314
 of title 5, United States Code. 
 <span class="gnun-split"></span>While away from home or regular place
 of business, each member will be allowed travel expenses, including
 per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by Section 5703 of
 Title 5, United States Code. The USPTO will provide the necessary
 administrative support, including technical assistance, for the
 Committees. Applicability of Certain Ethics Laws Members of each Public
 Advisory Committee shall be special Government employees within the
 meaning of Section 202 of Title 18, United States Code. The following
 additional information assumes that members are not engaged in Public
 Advisory Committee business more than sixty days during each calendar
 year:
 </p>
 
 <ul>
 <li>Each member will be required to file a confidential financial
 disclosure form within thirty (30) days of appointment. 5 C.F.R.
 2634.202(c), 2634.204, 2634.903, and 2634.904(b).</li>
 
 <li>Each member will be subject to many of the public integrity laws,
 including criminal bars against representing a party, 18 U.S.C. 203(c),
 or acting where the United States has an interest, 18 U.S.C. 205(c),
 in a particular matter that came before the member's committee and
 that involved at least one specific party. See also 18 U.S.C. 207 for
 post-membership bars. A member also must not act on a matter in which
 the member (or any of certain closely related entities) has a financial
 interest. 18 U.S.C. 208.</li>
 
 <li>Representation of foreign interests
 may also raise issues. 35 U.S.C. 5(a)(1)
 and 18 U.S.C. 219.</li>
 
 </ul>
 
 <p><b>Meetings of the Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees
 </b></p>
 
 <p>Meetings of each Advisory Committee will take place at the call
 of the chair to consider an agenda set by the chair. Meetings may be
 conducted in person, electronically through the Internet, or by other
 appropriate means. The meetings of each Advisory Committee will be open
 to the public except each Advisory Committee may, by majority vote, meet
 in executive session when considering personnel or other confidential
 matters. Nominees must also have the ability to participate in Committee
 business through the Internet.</p>
 
 <p><b>Procedure for Submitting Nominations</b></p>
 
 <p>Submit resumes for nominations for the Patent Public Advisory
 Committee and the Trademark Public Advisory Committee to the USPTO's
 Chief of Staff as provided above.</p>
 
 <p>Dated: March 7, 2001.
 <br />Nicholas P. Godici,
 </p>
 
 <p><i>Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
 Acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.</i></p>
 
 <p>[FR Doc. 016238 Filed 31201; 8:45 am]
 <br />
 BILLING CODE 351016U
 </p>
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 <p>
 Please send questions and comments regarding this specific page to <a
 href="mailto:dmarti@ssc.com">Don Marti &lt;dmarti@ssc.com&gt;</a>.
 </p>
 
 <p>Please send general FSF &amp; GNU inquiries to
 <a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org">&lt;gnu@gnu.org&gt;</a>.
 There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a>
 the FSF.  Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent
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 <p>
 This article is reprinted here with permission from Don Marti.
 </p>
 <p>
 Copyright &copy; 2001, Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. All rights
 reserved.</p>
 <p>
 First published on the Linux Journal web site 3 April 2001. Verbatim
 copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any
 medium, provided this notice is preserved.
 </p>
 
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 <p class="unprintable">Updated:
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 $Date: 2021/09/02 08:42:02 $
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