Attorney-advisor of the USPTO's Office of Policy and International Affairs Ms. Cynthia Henderson for one said the office is mulling mandatory electronic filing for trademark applications this year.  This will also encourage end-to-end electronic processing (and communication) for trademark applications.

 

Atty. Jesus Ros, Assistant Director for IPOPHL's Bureau of Trademarks shared IPOPHL's end-to-end automated system for trademark filing, emphasizing that communication between applicant & examiner, both outbound and inbound can now be done electronically.

 

However, as the system is still gaining traction among users, Assistant Director Ros said the goal to mandate all trademark filings to be filed electronically can be done at a later time after conducting the necessary tutorials and addressing areas for improvement raised by IPOPHL's stakeholders.

 

Also included among IPOPHL's trademark examination improvements is the Joint Examination Track (JET) which is currently being piloted. the JET procedure is a concerted effort of the office to streamline the trademark application process.  

 

Examining trade dress applications, including 3D trademarks, and non-traditional trademarks were among the topics discussed during the workshop.

 

The USPTO conducted a similar advanced trademark examination workshop for IPOPHL examiners in 2017. The two offices continue to conduct cooperative activities through their existing MOU.