Press Release, 11-11
USPTO Issues Examination Guidelines to Better Define the Scope of Patent Protection and Thereby Improve Patent Quality
    "Guidelines will help ensure specificity and clarity in compliance with 35 U.S.C. § 112"

中文摘要:

  USPTO提出補充審查基準，確保大眾可更明確知悉專利權的範圍且與申請人所揭露者相互一致，期能改善專利審查人員之審查品質。係爭基準已公告於聯邦公報，並於公告後有60天之徵求公開意見期間。
  係爭新補充基準，焦點放在專利法規第112條，將可藉由要求申請者清楚地主張其發明，進而使大眾能明確知悉該專利所保護之範圍。是此，透過確立專利的基礎-授權範圍明確，且與申請者所揭露者互相呼應。
  專利品質的首要條件即是專利系統之適當運作，而USPTO長期以來一直被大眾要求能提供進一步的引導，使審查者及申請者皆能與專利法規第112條規定更相符合此補充基準意在使申請者於擬定申請範圍及審查者評估申請案之申請專利範圍時，皆能與專利法第112條第2項相符合。
  而此一基準，則是USPTO參酌專利法規以及美國最高法院及聯邦巡迴法院對法規所做出具拘束力之先例所制定；將可做為目前專利審查基準條款之補充。目前之專利審查基準條款(MPEP)，除補充基準指出者外，其餘仍持續有效。
聯邦公報公告資訊詳見 : http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/pdf/2011-2841.pdf. WASHINGTON –

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued supplementary guidelines for examiners that are designed to improve patent quality by ensuring that the scope of patent rights is clear to the public and commensurate with applicant’s disclosure. The public will be invited to comment on the new guidelines, which were published in the Federal Register today.

These new guidelines, which address section 112 of the Patent Act, will promote patent quality by requiring that applications distinctly claim the invention so that the public is clearly informed of the patent rights granted. This, in turn, will create more certainty in the marketplace by ensuring a foundation of the patent system—that the scope of patent rights granted are clear and supported by the invention disclosed to the public—is properly maintained.

“Patent quality is essential to the proper functioning of the patent system and the intellectual property community has long wanted the USPTO to provide additional guidance to examiners and applicants to ensure better compliance with Section 112,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos. “Optimizing patent quality by providing clear notice to the public of the boundaries of the inventive subject matter protected by a patent grant fosters innovation and competitiveness. These guidelines will help ensure that the public receives meaningful disclosure commensurate with the patent rights being issued.”
 
The new guidelines are intended to assist applicants in drafting claims and examiners in evaluating claims in patent applications for compliance with 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph. The guidelines and supplemental information are based on the USPTO’s current understanding of the law and are believed to be fully consistent with the binding precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) and its predecessor courts. The guidelines are a supplement to the current provisions in the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) pertaining to 35 U.S.C. § 112, and the current provisions in the MPEP pertaining to 35 U.S.C. § 112 remain in effect except as where indicated in these guidelines.

The public will have 60 days to comment on the supplementary guidelines which can be accessed at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/pdf/2011-2841.pdf.

資料來源 The United Patent and Trademark Office  2011/02/09