Survey of Patent Examiners

U.S. Government Accountability Office

Background

	The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), a legislative branch agency, is conducting two studies of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). We are examining PTO's approach to patent quality, challenges PTO faces in finding relevant prior art, and how PTO might improve patent quality and its prior art search capabilities. As part of this study, we are conducting a web-based survey of randomly selected examiners in each technology center. Your participation in our study is essential for us to inform the Congress about PTO's approach to patent quality and prior art search. As you were individually chosen by our sample in order to accurately capture the views of examiners within different technology centers and art areas, please complete this survey yourself and do not forward to another examiner. We estimate that this survey will take between 45 to 60 minutes to complete. The survey does not need to be completed in one sitting. Your responses can be saved and accessed at a later date. To learn more about completing the survey, printing your responses, and whom to contact if you have questions, click here for help. Thank you for your time and assistance.

	(View responses)

Section 1 (questions 1 through 8): Time examiners spent on certain aspects of patent examination, clarity of patent applications, PTO training for examiners, and aspects of searching for different types of prior art.

1.	Do you have signatory authority (either temporary or permanent)?

			Yes, full signatory authority
			Yes, partial signatory authority
			No signatory authority
			No response
	(View responses)

2.	On average, how many hours did you generally spend on each First Action on the Merits (FAOM) you did in the past quarter? (Please round to the closest hour.)

			0-5 hours
			6-10 hours
			11-15 hours
			16-20 hours
			More than 20 hours
			Don't know
			No response
	(View responses)

3.	Of the patent applications you reviewed in the past quarter, approximately how many hours per application did you spend on prior art search when preparing the original FAOM (non-RCE)? For this question, please only consider time searching for potentially relevant art, and not time to fully read and apply the art.

	(View responses)

4.	Of the patent applications you reviewed in the past quarter, about what percentage were clearly written and understandable upon first inspection?

			0 to 20 percent
			21 to 40 percent
			41 to 60 percent
			61 to 80 percent
			81 to 100 percent
			Don't know
			No response
	(View responses)

5.	How useful, if at all, to your job was PTO training in each of the following areas in the past year?

	(View responses)

		Very Useful	Moderately Useful	Somewhat Useful	Slightly Useful	Not at All Useful	Not Taken	Not Offered	No Response
a.	Best practices in patent examination (View responses)
b.	Subject matter eligibility (Section 101) (View responses)
c.	Section 112(a) (View responses)
d.	Section 112(b) (View responses)
e.	Section 112(f) (View responses)

		Very Useful	Moderately Useful	Somewhat Useful	Slightly Useful	Not at All Useful	Not Taken	Not Offered	No Response
f.	Claim interpretation (i.e. Broadest Reasonable Interpretation) (View responses)
g.	Other PTO training on legal matters (e.g. new case law) (View responses)
h.	Continuing education in your art area, provided by PTO (View responses)
i.	Interviewing skills for interactions with applicants and patent attorneys (View responses)
j.	Technology training (e.g. EAST/WEST, OACS, or PE2E) (View responses)

6.	How often in your typical examination do you search for these types of prior art references?

	(View responses)

		Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never	Don't Use	No Response
a.	Scientific articles or presentations (View responses)
b.	Software-related non-patent literature (NPL) (View responses)
c.	Textbooks (View responses)
d.	Industry-related NPL (e.g. manuals or company websites) (View responses)
e.	NPL in a foreign language (View responses)
f.	Foreign patents (View responses)

		Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never	Don't Use	No Response
g.	Prior US patents and PGPubs (pre-grant publications) (View responses)
h.	Image-based rather than text-based art (View responses)
i.	Sequence ID or chemical formulae (View responses)
j.	Traditional Knowledge collections (View responses)
k.	Other art reference (View responses)

	If you responded to "other art reference," please write the other art reference in the box below.

	(View responses)

7.	How easy or difficult is it to obtain relevant art from searches for these types of prior art references?

	(View responses)

		Very Easy	Somewhat Easy	Neither Easy Nor Difficult	Somewhat Difficult	Very Difficult	Don't Use	Don't Know	No Response
a.	Scientific articles or presentations (View responses)
b.	Software-related non-patent literature (NPL) (View responses)
c.	Textbooks (View responses)
d.	Industry-related NPL (e.g. manuals or company websites) (View responses)
e.	NPL in a foreign language (View responses)
f.	Foreign patents (View responses)

		Very Easy	Somewhat Easy	Neither Easy Nor Difficult	Somewhat Difficult	Very Difficult	Don't Use	Don't Know	No Response
g.	Prior US patents and PGPubs (pre-grant publications) (View responses)
h.	Image-based rather than text-based art (View responses)
i.	Sequence ID or chemical formulae (View responses)
j.	Traditional Knowledge collections (View responses)
k.	Other art reference (View responses)

	If you responded to "other art reference," please write the other art reference in the box below.

	(View responses)

8.	In general, how often is the art from these types of prior art references the most relevant art you consider?

	(View responses)

		Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never	Don't Use	Don't Know	No Response
a.	Scientific articles or presentations (View responses)
b.	Software-related non-patent literature (NPL) (View responses)
c.	Textbooks (View responses)
d.	Industry-related NPL (e.g. manuals or company websites) (View responses)
e.	NPL in a foreign language (View responses)
f.	Foreign patents (View responses)

		Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never	Don't Use	Don't Know	No Response
g.	Prior US patents and PGPubs (pre-grant publications) (View responses)
h.	Image-based rather than text-based art (View responses)
i.	Sequence ID or chemical formulae (View responses)
j.	Traditional Knowledge collections (View responses)
k.	Other art reference (View responses)

	If you responded to "other art reference," please write the other art reference in the box below.

	(View responses)

Section 2 (questions 9 through 15): Factors that affect prior art searches and examination, and examiners' views on the effects of potential changes.

9.	In the past quarter, approximately how often did you encounter new applications with the following items?

	(View responses)

		Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never	Don't Know	No Response
a.	Larger number of independent claims than necessary to describe the invention (View responses)
b.	Larger number of dependent claims than necessary to describe the invention (View responses)
c.	Non-standard use of terms of art (View responses)
d.	Terms that are not well-defined in the specification (View responses)
e.	Broadly worded claims (View responses)
f.	Vague and indefinite claims (View responses)

		Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never	Don't Know	No Response
g.	Presence of functional claiming language (e.g Section 112(f)) (View responses)
h.	Misclassification of patent applications (e.g. routed to wrong art area) (View responses)
i.	An equivalent foreign application (View responses)
j.	Absence of an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) (View responses)
k.	An excessive number of art references provided by applicant (View responses)
l.	Irrelevant art references provided by applicant (View responses)

		Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never	Don't Know	No Response
m.	IDS with relevant references (View responses)
n.	Search results from a foreign patent office or international search authority (e.g. PCT) (View responses)
o.	Third-party submissions (View responses)
p.	A subject matter in which you have knowledge of existing prior art based on your experience (education, previous work experience) (View responses)
q.	Pro se applications (View responses)
r.	Poor quality drawings or images (View responses)

10.	Compared to the typical application, how much easier or more difficult do the following factors of an application make it to complete a thorough prior art search in the time allotted?

	(View responses)

		Much Easier	Somewhat Easier	Neither Easier Nor More Difficult	Somewhat More Difficult	Much More Difficult	Don't Know	No Response
a.	Larger number of independent claims than necessary to describe the invention (View responses)
b.	Larger number of dependent claims than necessary to describe the invention (View responses)
c.	Non-standard use of terms of art (View responses)
d.	Terms that are not well-defined in the specification (View responses)
e.	Broadly worded claims (View responses)
f.	Vague and indefinite claims (View responses)

		Much Easier	Somewhat Easier	Neither Easier Nor More Difficult	Somewhat More Difficult	Much More Difficult	Don't Know	No Response
g.	Presence of functional claiming language (e.g Section 112(f)) (View responses)
h.	Misclassification of patent applications (e.g. routed to wrong art area) (View responses)
i.	An equivalent foreign application (View responses)
j.	Absence of an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) (View responses)
k.	An excessive number of art references provided by applicant (View responses)
l.	Irrelevant art references provided by applicant (View responses)

		Much Easier	Somewhat Easier	Neither Easier Nor More Difficult	Somewhat More Difficult	Much More Difficult	Don't Know	No Response
m.	IDS with relevant references (View responses)
n.	Search results from a foreign patent office or international search authority (e.g. PCT) (View responses)
o.	Third-party submissions (View responses)
p.	A subject matter in which you have knowledge of existing prior art based on your experience (education, previous work experience) (View responses)
q.	Pro se applications (View responses)
r.	Poor quality drawings or images (View responses)
s.	Other factor (View responses)

	If you responded to "other factor," please write the other factor in the box below.

	(View responses)

11.	How much easier or more difficult do the following PTO-wide factors make it to complete a thorough prior art search in the time allotted?

	(View responses)

		Much Easier	Somewhat Easier	Neither Easier Nor More Difficult	Somewhat More Difficult	Much More Difficult	Don't Know	No Response
a.	The PTO search tools available to you (e.g. EAST/WEST) (View responses)
b.	Third party search tools available to you (e.g. Google Patents, Derwent) (View responses)
c.	Quantity of art available (i.e. the sheer number of possibly relevant references across all sources) (View responses)
d.	Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) (View responses)
e.	Adherence to compact prosecution (addressing everything in the first office action) (View responses)
f.	Documenting your search strategy and search results from all sources (View responses)

		Much Easier	Somewhat Easier	Neither Easier Nor More Difficult	Somewhat More Difficult	Much More Difficult	Don't Know	No Response
g.	Completing required forms that accompany an office action (View responses)
h.	The count system as currently designed (View responses)
i.	Rewarding examiners based on production (View responses)
j.	Automated search results from PLUS (View responses)
k.	Other factor (View responses)

	If you responded to "other factor," please write the other factor in the box below.

	(View responses)

12.	If you have suggestions for improving any factors that you indicated as making prior art searches more difficult in questions 10 and 11, please write them in the box below. Please include the corresponding question number and letter for the factor(s) discussed.

	(View responses)

13.	How much easier or more difficult do the following factors make it to complete a thorough examination?

	(View responses)

		Much Easier	Somewhat Easier	Neither Easier Nor More Difficult	Somewhat More Difficult	Much More Difficult	Don't Know	No Response
a.	Amount of time allotted for prosecution of a case (View responses)
b.	Amount of time available for FAOM (First Action on the Merits) (View responses)
c.	Larger number of independent claims than necessary to describe the invention (View responses)
d.	Larger number of dependent claims than necessary to describe the invention (View responses)
e.	Non-standard use of terms of art (View responses)
f.	Terms that are not well-defined in the specification (View responses)
g.	Broadly worded claims (View responses)

		Much Easier	Somewhat Easier	Neither Easier Nor More Difficult	Somewhat More Difficult	Much More Difficult	Don't Know	No Response
h.	Vague and indefinite claims (View responses)
i.	Presence of functional claiming language (e.g. Section 112(f)) (View responses)
j.	Misclassification of patent applications, i.e. routed to wrong art area (View responses)
k.	PTO's existing IT systems (View responses)
l.	Statutory changes in patent law (View responses)
m.	New patentability related case law (e.g. Alice) (View responses)
n.	Pro se application (View responses)

		Much Easier	Somewhat Easier	Neither Easier Nor More Difficult	Somewhat More Difficult	Much More Difficult	Don't Know	No Response
o.	Interviews with applicants in person (View responses)
p.	Interviews with applicants by WebEx (View responses)
q.	Interviews with applicants by telephone (View responses)
r.	The ability of applicants to file RCEs (View responses)
s.	Adherence to compact prosecution (addressing everything in the first office action) (View responses)
t.	Other factor (View responses)

	If you responded to "other factor," please write the other factor in the box below.

	(View responses)

14.	Would the following changes result in you performing examinations more or less effectively?

	(View responses)

		Much More Effectively	Somewhat More Effectively	Neither More Nor Less Effectively	Somewhat Less Effectively	Much Less Effectively	Don't Know	No Response
a.	Increased time allowed for each office action type (View responses)
b.	Increased counts provided for each office action (View responses)
c.	More than one examiner working on each case (View responses)
d.	New PTO policy to focus your time on only the independent claims (not the dependent claims) (View responses)
e.	Limits on the number of dependent claims in an application (View responses)
f.	More time allotted for applications with numerous claims (View responses)

		Much More Effectively	Somewhat More Effectively	Neither More Nor Less Effectively	Somewhat Less Effectively	Much Less Effectively	Don't Know	No Response
g.	Require all applicants to submit glossaries (View responses)
h.	Require applicants to abide by accepted terms of art within the art area (View responses)
i.	Additional PTO requirements on claim clarity to applicants (View responses)
j.	Change in policy to not require addressing everything in the first office action (View responses)
k.	Require that the applicant must provide an explicit claim interpretation (View responses)
l.	Limits on the number of amended and new claims that can be filed during prosecution or continuations (View responses)

		Much More Effectively	Somewhat More Effectively	Neither More Nor Less Effectively	Somewhat Less Effectively	Much Less Effectively	Don't Know	No Response
m.	Limits on the broadening of the scope of amended and new claims that can be filed during prosecution or continuations (View responses)
n.	Stricter enforcement of the requirement for applicants to contribute to a complete written record of the interview (View responses)
o.	Examining a set number of cases per quarter (e.g. flat goal) (View responses)
p.	Worksharing of examination files from other patent offices (View responses)
q.	Other change (View responses)

	If you responded to "other change," please write the other change in the box below.

	(View responses)

15.	Would the following changes or new tools make it easier or more difficult to complete a thorough prior art search in the time allotted?

	(View responses)

		Much Easier	Somewhat Easier	Neither Easier Nor More Difficult	Somewhat More Difficult	Much More Difficult	Don't Know	No Response
a.	Method to provide publicly crowdsourced responses to examiners' questions regarding specific applications (View responses)
b.	Internal, online crowdsourcing forum to ask questions to other patent examiners (View responses)
c.	Examiner access to external technical experts on demand (View responses)
d.	Automated, pre-examination search with results provided by advanced natural language and linguistic technologies (View responses)
e.	Search engine that can automatically search for synonyms and related concepts of the search terms entered by the examiner (View responses)

		Much Easier	Somewhat Easier	Neither Easier Nor More Difficult	Somewhat More Difficult	Much More Difficult	Don't Know	No Response
f.	Search engine that automatically generates relevant art based on the entirety of the claims, without keyword entry (View responses)
g.	Improved search engine that automatically generates relevant art based on the specification, without keyword entry (View responses)
h.	Immediate machine-translation of foreign language documents (View responses)
i.	Additional translators (View responses)
j.	Other change (View responses)

	If you responded to "other change" , please write the other change in the box below.

	(View responses)

Section 3 (questions 16 through 18): Pressures examiners experience, and factors that may motivate their performance.

16.	We understand that pressures exist at every organization. We are interested in what pressures, if any, examiners may experience. How much pressure do you experience, if at all, to do the following?

	(View responses)

		A Lot of Pressure	Moderate Pressure	Some Pressure	A Little Pressure	No Pressure	Don't Know	No Response
a.	Issue high quality patents (View responses)
b.	Increase production numbers (View responses)
c.	Agree with applicants' representatives (View responses)
d.	Provide a high level of customer service (View responses)
e.	Have a higher allowance rate (View responses)
f.	Have a lower allowance rate (View responses)
g.	Change behavior based on examiner statistics provided by third parties on the internet (View responses)
h.	Change behavior based on internal examiner statistics (e-STAT) (View responses)

		A Lot of Pressure	Moderate Pressure	Some Pressure	A Little Pressure	No Pressure	Don't Know	No Response
i.	Work overtime (View responses)
j.	Avoid time-consuming office actions (View responses)
k.	Abide by docket management deadlines (View responses)
l.	Reduce actions per disposal (View responses)
m.	Help achieve your TC's quality goals (View responses)
n.	Ensure your work does not result in re-exam or any type of post-grant proceedings (i.e. IPR) (View responses)
o.	Avoid making section 112 rejections (View responses)
p.	Other pressure (View responses)

	If you responded to "other pressure," please write the other pressure in the box below.

	(View responses)

17.	We are interested in what may motivate you to go above and beyond a fully successful rating on your current Performance Appraisal Plan (PAP). How motivated, if at all, are you by the following?

	(View responses)

		Very Motivated	Moderately Motivated	Somewhat Motivated	Slightly Motivated	Not At All Motivated	Don't Know	No Response
a.	Receiving bonuses for achieving production goals (View responses)
b.	Receiving bonuses for docket management (View responses)
c.	Pride or satisfaction in doing your job well (View responses)
d.	Providing quality customer service to external stakeholders (View responses)
e.	Non-monetary recognition (View responses)
f.	Career advancement (View responses)
g.	Other motivation (View responses)

	If you responded to "other motivation," please specify the other motivation in the box below.

	(View responses)

18.	Are you more or less likely to feel pressure to allow an application after more than an average number of RCEs?

			Much more likely to feel pressure
			Somewhat more likely to feel pressure
			Neither more nor less likely to feel pressure
			Somewhat less likely to feel pressure
			Much less likely to feel pressure
			Don't Know
			No Response
	(View responses)

Section 4 (questions 19 through 28): Examiners' views related to patent quality at PTO, sufficiency of examiners' time for completing thorough prior art searches and patent examinations, overtime worked by examiners, examiners' confidence that they find the most relevant prior art during examination, and past or current PTO initiatives to improve the quality of issued patents.

19.	In the past quarter, how often did you close prosecution with a rejection?

			Always
			Often
			Sometimes
			Rarely
			Never
			No Response
	(View responses)

20.	Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

	(View responses)

		Strongly Agree	Somewhat Agree	Neither Agree Nor Disagree	Somewhat Disagree	Strongly Disagree	Don't Know	No Response
a.	Patent quality is important to senior management at PTO (View responses)
b.	Patent quality is important in my Technology Center (View responses)
c.	Patent quality is important in my art unit (View responses)
d.	Patent quality is important to me as an examiner (View responses)

21.	How important is proper application of the following patentability requirements to an examiner's advancement at PTO?

	(View responses)

		Very Important	Moderately Important	Somewhat Important	Slightly Important	Not Important	Don't Know	No Response
a.	Section 101 (View responses)
b.	Section 102 (View responses)
c.	Section 103 (View responses)
d.	Section 112(a) (View responses)
e.	Section 112(b) (View responses)
f.	Section 112(f) (View responses)

22.	Given a typical workload do you have sufficient time to complete a thorough examination?

			Much more time than needed
			Somewhat more time than needed
			About as much time as needed
			Somewhat less time than needed
			Much less time than needed
			Don't know
			No response
	(View responses)

23.	Given a typical workload do you have sufficient time to complete a thorough prior art search?

			Much more time than needed
			Somewhat more time than needed
			About as much time as needed
			Somewhat less time than needed
			Much less time than needed
			Don't know
			No response
	(View responses)

24.	In the past six months, on average, about how much voluntary/uncompensated overtime have you worked per bi-week to meet your minimum production goal?

			None
			1-5 hours
			6-10 hours
			11-15 hours
			16-20 hours
			21-30 hours
			More than 30 hours
			Not applicable (GS-5 or 7)
			No response
	(View responses)

25.	How confident are you that you find the most relevant prior art during examination within the time allotted?

			Very confident
			Moderately confident
			Somewhat confident
			Slightly confident
			Not very confident
			Not at all confident
			Don't know
			No response
	(View responses)

26.	How confident are you that you find the most relevant prior art during examination within the time allotted and any additional voluntary overtime?

			Very confident
			Moderately confident
			Somewhat confident
			Slightly confident
			Not very confident
			Not at all confident
			Don't know
			No response
	(View responses)

27.	How much have the following past or current PTO quality initiatives improved the quality of issued patents?

	(View responses)

		Greatly Improved	Moderately Improved	Somewhat Improved	Slightly Improved	Not Improved	Don't Know	Not Familiar With Program	No Response
a.	After Final Consideration Pilot Program (AFCP 2.0) (View responses)
b.	Second Pair of Eyes Review (where a second reviewer or manager reviews an examiner's work) (View responses)
c.	Glossary Pilot Program (View responses)
d.	Examiner certification test (View responses)

28.	What other issues related to PTO's ability to identify relevant prior art or patent quality should we be aware of?

	(View responses)

	*IMPORTANT: Please continue to the next screen to submit your final responses to GAO.*

	(View responses)

Submit Your Final Responses to GAO

29.	Are you ready to submit your final completed survey to GAO? (This is equivalent to mailing a completed paper survey to us. It tells us that your answers are official and final.)

			Yes, my survey is complete - To submit your final responses, please click on "Exit" below"
			No, my survey is not yet complete - To save your responses for later, please click on "Exit" below"
	(View responses)

	You may view and print your completed survey by clicking on the Summary link in the menu to the left.

	(View responses)

Questionnaire Programming Language - Version 6.2
U.S. Government Accountability Office

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