"The following guidelines are provided to Patent supervisors and examiners in the event of computer problems and outages."
Of particular note in the Guidelines:
The examiner should follow the steps below in order to receive other time:
1.Contact the OCIO Service Desk -Examiners experiencing computer related issues (IT issues), should follow the steps of contacting the Service Desk, via phone at 2-9000 or e-mail servicedesk@uspto.govorS9000form,report the problem and obtain a ticket number. If the examiner is unable to obtain a ticket number proceed to step 2.
2.Consult the supervisor or designee of the IT issue in a timely manner of current steps taken to work around the outage (see Computer Downtime Guidance on Automation Alternatives for Patent Examiners). Supervisors can provide information to employees on available alternative work that can be performed. If the supervisor or designee is not available, the examiner leaves a voicemail or e-mail message to the supervisor stating the IT issue that they are experiencing and current steps being taken to work around the issue, in a timely manner.
3.Communicate to the supervisor the duration of the IT issue and work with supervisor to determine appropriate other time to be granted. The supervisor will work in a timely manner to grant and notify the examiner of other time granted as appropriate.
4.Record in Remarks section of WebTA the outage experienced along with the ticket number provided by the Service Desk (e.g. INC000001536827 -Hard Drive Crash –2 hours).