Patent Office Professional Association

Welcome to POPA’s Official WebSite

Jul 272012

Here you will be able to find out all the latest news and info about POPA – Patent Office Professional Association. Reminder: Every Tuesday from 11am – 1pm there will be Office Hours held in the POPA Office, RND 1D61 or by phone x2-7162. This is where you can meet and discuss your issues with a POPA representative. Note: If the site appears distorted in your version of Internet Explorer, then try using the Compatibility Mode by pressing the button located in between the URL input box and the refresh button. Thank you and sorry for any inconvenience.

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Retirement Reception: Howard Locker and Randy Myers!

Jan 062014

Come one, come all to wish well our retiring colleagues. Howard Locker and Randy Myers are saying goodbye to the office and POPA as they both move into new adventures. Please join us in wishing them the best: Tuesday, January 14th, 1-3PM Remsen Conference Room, 1D04 See you there!

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POPA Opposes Further Budget Impacts on Federal Employees

Dec 102013

POPA and other members of the Federal-Postal Coalition, together representing more than five million federal and postal employees, sent a letter to Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Paul Ryan, chairs of the joint Budget Committee, opposing any further attempts to balance the federal budget on the backs of federal employees. It is believed that the Budget Committee will propose this week, possibly as soon as Tuesday, to increase employee contributions to the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) and, in addition, to change the calculation of retirement benefits by using an employee’s highest five-year salary history rather than the current high-three calculation. In

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POPA Treasurer’s Annual Report

Dec 032013

The following is the Treasurer’s Report presented at the Annual Meeting on December 3, 2013.

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POPA Annual Meeting!

Nov 282013

Dear POPA Bargaining Unit Members, Next Wednesday, December 4, from 11:30-12:30, POPA will be holding its Annual Meeting in the Madison Auditorium North. The Annual Meeting will also be webcast for those unable to attend in person. The webcast information is included below. I hope you can join us at the Annual Meeting or by webcast. As you are aware, 2013 brought many major changes affecting our bargaining unit members and the USPTO. It looks like 2014 may be shaping up to bring even more. At the Annual Meeting we will update you regarding the many changes going on in

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Blood Donation

Aug 082013

There is a critical need for blood in the Washington, D.C. area and other areas of the country. Donations can be made at an Alexandria campus blood drive or to a non-profit organization such as the American Red Cross. Patent employees who donate blood, either on or off campus, can claim up to 4 hours of administrative leave for travel to a donor center, donation and recovery. Employees are to record the name of the non-profit organization they donated to in the “notes” section of their WebTA. Blood Donation Rules: Blood may only be donated after a 56-day period since

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Sign-up for Patents Telework Program

Jul 262013

Dear POPA Bargaining Unit Members: Recently, POPA and the USPTO reached agreement on the new Patents Telework Program 2013 (PTP 2013). Here is some clarification about the new PTP 2013: The PTP 2013 agreement was signed on May 30, 2013. This agreement covers all partial telework programs for patent examiners, patent reexamination specialists, and bargaining unit employees in the Office of PCT Legal Administration (OPLA) and the Office of Petitions. It does NOT cover hoteling. If you are a hoteler, no reapplication is required at this time. All employees interested in partial telework must apply to the new PTP 2013,

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IFP PARTICIPANTS: Accurately record your time

Jul 122013

A number of examiners, particularly examiners participating in PHP (Patents Hoteling Program), are not accurately recording their hours worked on WebTA. Examiners are required to accurately record their hours worked. Simply filling out the WebTA for the pay period listing “8” as the number of hours worked Monday through Friday even if they worked different hours each day, is not an accurate recording. The Agency routinely investigates examiners after their supervisor or attorneys have had a hard time reaching them and telephone calls and/or e-mails are not being returned in a timely manner. Management will look at computer usage records

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Work Credit Abuse

Jun 182013

Work credit abuse (a.k.a. mortgaging) is an act of misconduct, which occurs when an employee knowingly posts for credit for work which is substantively incomplete, either through the absence of rejections, or the presence of rejections that are inappropriate, for production gain, docket management gain or both (e.g. to receive an award, to avoid a performance warning, etc.). The standard for determining misconduct is a preponderance of the evidence; i.e., whether it is more likely true than not, the employee committed work credit abuse. The determination as to whether or not mortgaging has occurred is fact-based and is initially

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USPTO Automation Systems and Maintenance

May 012013

As with planes, trains and automobiles, automation systems need their routine maintenance too. Bargaining unit members should be aware that normal automation system availability hours in Eastern Standard Time (EST) are : Monday-Thursday: 5:30 am until 12:00 midnight; Friday: 5:30 am until 10:00 pm; and Saturday and Sunday: 9:00 am until 10:00 pm. Hours outside of the above hours are maintenance times. The USPTO uses these overnight times to provide maintenance to automation systems. This maintenance may impact the automation systems which bargaining unit members use to perform their job(s). Advance Service Notices are normally sent out to the Patent

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HEEELLLPPPPP!! My UL/OACS/EAST/WEST/E-DAN….. is having issues :-( .

May 012013

Sorry to hear that ! Unfortunately, if you have a computer or peripheral hardware at some point you will have automation issues and all the frustration that comes with it. CALL the Service Desk (571-272-9000) and GET A TICKET NUMBER.. it is not an exercise in futility. The Service Desk can be the first place where a local or system-wide automation problem is identified. If your problem is not urgent, then E-mail the service/help desk. Do not let the Service Desk close your ticket number until you are satisfied that your issue has been resolved. Call volume (e.g. you are

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