Resolve Stalled U.S. Patents with the Ombudsman Program

Is Your Patent Application Stuck in the Patent Office?  Consider Using the Patent Office’s Ombudsman Program To Get it Back On Track

Those who have regularly sought patent protection through the U.S. Patent Office will have likely realized that the patent review process isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  The process is subjective in nature, the underlying law is often mis-applied, and work quality can vary significantly from Examiner to Examiner.  With this in mind, it’s not uncommon for patent applications to become “stuck” during the negotiation process.

While there are many different approaches for navigating the U.S. patent system, one often overlooked avenue is the Patent Office’s Ombudsman program.  Under this program, if normal processing of a patent application has stalled for some reason, a request can be placed to have a neutral third party at the patent office assist in getting the application back on track.

To use the program, the patent applicant or attorney can simply call the Patents Ombuds Office at 571-272-5555 or 855-559-8589 weekdays between the hours of 8:30 am and 5:30 pm EST, or send an email to OmbudsmanProgram@uspto.gov requesting assistance.  Alternatively, they can complete a contact form, which will initiate a call back within 24 hours.  The contact form is available at https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/patents-ombuds-office/contact-patents-ombuds

Once in contact, a Patent Ombuds representative will ask for further details regarding the issue at hand.  The matter will then be assigned to a Patent Ombudsman who will often obtain additional details from the applicant/attorney and then contact the appropriate person to assist with addressing the inquiry.  The appropriate person may include, for example, the examiner who is handling the patent application, the examiner’s supervisor, or the director of the relevant patent office technical center.

The patent office notes that this program should not be used to take the place of normal communications with patent examiners, supervisory patent examiners or technical directors.  Rather, the program should be used to make sure that the application process runs smoothly and that patent applications don’t get stalled in the process.  The program is often used where there are quality control or procedural issues that haven’t been able to be addressed through normal channels.

Our firm has used the Ombudsman program occasionally over the years with success.  In our experience, the ombudsman has been a very experienced patent professional who has been willing to listen to our concerns and then act as a neutral intermediary to help resolve the issues at hand.  Based on our experience, we would recommend using the program in cases where an application has been held up for some reason or where there are quality control concerns that haven’t been addressed through normal channels.

Since the patent office offers the Patents Ombudsman program free of charge, it can be a helpful, inexpensive way to advance a patent application to allowance. Have questions? Feel free to give me a call @ 678-218-5067.