Dear Patent Examiners,
POPA’s agreement with the Agency concerning the Pendency (docket management) Award expires yearly. Therefore, every winter since the inception of the docket management system, POPA has reentered negotiations with management concerning docket management and renewal of the Pendency Award.
This year, our teams have been discussing docket management and related issues since early February. On March 24th, POPA’s executive committee voted to approve the basic outline of an updated agreement including renewal of the award. Since that time, we have been working diligently to reach agreement on details that would be acceptable to both POPA and management. Talks are on-going, but we have not yet been able to come to a final agreement and at this time, there is no agreement to continue the award into the third quarter.
As soon as there is an update, we will let you know.
Thanks,
Pam Schwartz, President
Patent Office Professional Association