On the Job

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Employed since 1988 by the US Patent and Trademark Office, headquartered in Alexandria, VA.  PTO Employee #66,848.

Career Objective:  To maintain an active role in the process of US Patent prosecution and file history development, using the technical, legal and leadership skills that I've developed over the last 19 years.

Current position: Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2173

Principal Area of Expertise: Class 715, Operator Interface and Document Processing;
Subclasses 700 - 867--Operator Interface.  I like to think of our class as being where real life people have their contact with the assorted media that lives beyond.  I have been designated, as the most senior Examiner working the 715/700+ docket, as the "Gatekeeper" for the art, disposing one way or the other with transfer requests.  Folks, if your operator interface is directed to a particular application X, then go find X and bother them.

Have examined many other kinds of applications in class 715, as well as classes 345, 707, 709, 358.  Where once a group of 5 or 6 worked, prior to 1990, there now toil a small brigade of at least 100.  We have exponential growth, it would seem, with a doubling time on the order of 3 or 4 years.

Over my 19 years from 1988 - 2007, have been the principal, subject-matter expert reviewer on 892 US applications, 479 of which have issued as US Patents.  Have signed with Full Signatory Authority approximately 2500 total applications, including those of reporting Junior Examiners.  Have taken Examiner education field trips to NJ (1989), AZ (1994), CA (2002), TX (2006). 

• 2006 - 2007:  Primary Patent Examiner, Art Units 2173, 2174. Supervisor Kristine Kincaid.

• Art Area:  Operator Interface, US Classification 715/700+.
• Examined applications as a principal subject matter expert and signatory primary, involving ongoing evaluation of patent applications as to matters of US Statute, US Federal Regulations, PCT Articles and Rules, and relevant case law.  This review has been both substantive and procedural, including all portions of the examination process from consideration regarding possible restriction, first action on the merits, prosecution-closing actions such as final rejection, notice of allowability and Examiner's answer for the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, as well as the handling of post-allowance matters and remands from the Board.
• Also, have continued with active, case-by-case training of non-signatory, junior Examiners, to include evaluation of their cases for possible errors in patent examining functions, action taking and/or patentability determination.  During this time, have had between 5 and 6 Examiners reporting cases and receiving e-mail feedback.
• Have been designated Gatekeeper of the 715/700+ Operator Interface US Patent Classification, handling transfer requests, helping form fields of search and working with Classification Branch in ongoing refinements to the system.  In 2007, this extended to collaborative efforts with counterpart Examiners from the European and Japanese Patent Offices, in the interest of Classification Harmonisation on an international, Tri-Lateral basis.

 
• 2001 - 2005:  Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2173.  Supervisor John W. Cabeca.

• Art Area:  Operator Interface, US Classification 345/700+.
• Worked on applications of my own as set forth above, along with those reporting cases to me, from between 3 and 5 junior staff at a given time.  Had ongoing involvement in Classification efforts such as reclassification.  Became proficient in the Office Action Correspondence Subsystem macros in MS Word, the eDAN interface for the IFW system, and the EAST search platform, as used to locate relevant prior art, along with Non-Patent Literature considerations in ProQuest, IEEE, ACM and other searchable collections.

 
• 1997 - 2000:  Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2773.  Supervisor Matthew Kim.

• Art Area:  Operator Interface, US Classification 395/326+.
• Performed substantive review of cases of my own and those of others reporting to me, which were as many as 7 junior staff at a time.  Had substantial involvement in Classification, and took ongoing training classes in various Examining-related subject areas, both on special bases and as groups within the general staff.

 
• 1994 - 1997:  Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2415.  Supervisor Mark Powell.

• Art Area:  Operator Interface, US Classification 395/326+.
• Gained further experience with examining my own applications, and developed capabilities in training new staff, from recent hires leaving the Patent Academy to more senior Examiners nearing the Signatory Review program.  Participated in a leadership role in both Art Unit operations and those relating to reclassification details.  Became proficient in the basic Internet modes, taking specialized training for UNIX shell account and application.  Later developed skills in the WWW, and began posting web pages on a personal- and church-oriented (i.e., volunteer) basis.

 
• 1992 - 1994:  Examiner, Art Unit 2301.  Supervisor Gary V. Harkcom.

• Art Area:  Data Presentation; Operator Interface and 3D systems, US Classification 395/100+.
• Underwent both the Partial and Full Signatory Authority reviews, culminating in becoming a Primary Examiner in 1994.  In this time, began work in training junior staff, including new hires from the Patent Academy.  Continued work on examining cases in which I was the principal subject matter expert, looking for issues relating to Statute, Rules, PCT Articles and case law.

 
• 1988 - 1992:  Examiner, Art Units 231, 231A.  Supervisor Gary V. Harkcom.

• Art Area:  Data Presentation, US Classification 364/518+.
• During this time, began developing skills in examining my own applications, being rated on performance of Patent Examining Functions.  Had extensive training in the Patent Academy and various other subject areas such as online search tools for non-Patent literature.  Implemented a privately owned computer with modem access to the online searching capability in place, eventually to include a PC clone in 1990 that operated on the Windows platform.

• BSEE, 1988, Lawrence Technological University, for 2/3 of my undergraduate credits, back in the days when it was an "Institute of Technology". Maybe not as much big-school glamour, but not as much distraction, either.  Years attended were 1984 - 1987, as Student ID #59,897.  (To current LTU'ers--what is YOUR ID#?  Have they kept using the same serial system?)  I dug out some old papers just now (February 2007), and was floored over how much I've forgotten--I don't even recognize myself from 20 years ago.  Oh, well, I could have held out for a "real" engineering job... instead, I responded to a USPTO cold call, where they sent me an application and I returned it.  I would really like to know how they got my name; I figure it has something to do with the system of recent grad files that they have.

Look for my paver brick, which cites "bo-hemian.com", on the new student activities area pavement...I've not seen it yet myself.  I'd love to get a snapshot of it, to see where they put me as a 1988 Alum.

• I did 2/9 of my engineering curriculum at Schoolcraft College, Livonia, MI, 1981 - 1983.  It is a good way to go; my parents could easily afford the tuition and had no room and board to pay.

• The first 1/9 of my degree I completed at the University of Michigan College of Engineering,

I had been the top science student out of a graduating class of about 360 at Northville High School.  I took from that a $1000.00 grant from the Honorary Award given by Bausch & Lomb.  In high school I was not quite certain how I wanted to study in college.  I loved mathematics, which I took all the way to the elite calculus class, then thought I might like physics, once I'd had that class.  Physics teacher Robert Sharrar, a Rensellaer Polytech alumnus, indirectly helped me to realize that engineering had the best of both math and physics.  One day I have to find out what happened to Mr. Sharrar.  I'd think he'd be retired by now.

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