Patently-O Bits and Bytes

  • Need some help from SPEs: Stanford Law Professor Mark Lemley is working on a project involving an extensive amount of patent prosecution data. He would like to clarify a few issues on patent office practice and could use the help of current or former SPEs.  One particular question that he is asking involves the assignment of examination duties within an art unit. I.e., once an application is classified, what is the process of deciding which examiner will handle the case?  You can contact him at mlemley@law.stanford.edu.