newly issued patents and registered trademarks, several publications on patents and trademarks, and an indication where publications can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, the Field Offices of the Department of Commerce, and the Patent Office.

News releases cover items of interest to all concerned. A special effort is made through a Speaker's Bureau activity bringing information about the Patent Office and its services and activities to Patent Law Associations, colleges and universities, and professional, scientific, and business groups.

Information emanating from the Patent Office activity, i.e., patents, printed files, and related records are made readily available to the public.

It is noted that pending applications for patents are kept in strictest. confidence until such time as patents are issued-based on law and for the protection of the inventor.

F. Information about the Bureau's activity is made available through the 42 Field Offices of the Department of Commerce and all regional and field offices of Small Business Administration. Requests for information not available at these field offices are referred to the Patent Office for reply. There are over 8,000 registered patent attorneys and agents whose services the inventors may obtain. This group also makes information available to those concerned with patents and trademarks.

II. PROCEDURES FOR PROMOTING MORE RESPONSIVE AGENCY

DECISION-MAKING

A. Decision-making procedures in the Patent Office comprise examination of patent applications, appeals from examiners' decisions in such cases, interference proceedings, trademark application examining and appeals and inter partes trademark cases including interferences, cancellations and oppositions. Of these, patent and trademark appeals and inter partes trademark proceedings are substantially current. Decisions in patent interferences are being rendered approximately six months later than they would be if this operation were on a completely current basis but this situation is being steadily improved by the use of improved procedures and by temporary assignment of members of the Board of Appeals to act as members of the Board of Patent Interferences, and no other corrective measures appear to be necessary.

Both the patent and trademark examining operations have substantial backlogs resulting in undersirable delays in reaching applications for first action, after which examination proceeds on practically a current basis. Improvement in these areas is difficult to effect because of the large volume of work involved, the increasing complexity and volume of records to be searched and the difficulty in obtaining sufficient numbers of properly trained personnel. The most obvious solution would be the employment of more examiners, but other aids, such as various improved examining procedures including mechanized searching, and international cooperation including exchanges of search results, are being vigorously studied and employed with the result that the backlog in patent cases has been reduced by more than thirty thousand cases during the past four years despite a steady increase in the number of applications filed and it is hoped

that a similar result may soon be attained in the trademark examining operation.

B. The Patent Office has systems analysts, management analysts, computer programmers, computer operators and an in-house computer (Honeywell 1200). In addition to its own resources of this type the Office has secured similar resources from other government agencies, in particular the Bureau of Standards, and private sources, such as Westat Research Analysts, Inc. The Patent Office does not deal with regulated enterprises as such although it can establish certain regulations covering rules of practice, right to practice and so forth. The Office has used facts and information provided by others such as the American Patent Law Association but has not relied, nor is it contemplated that it will rely, on outside sources for facts and information because of such sources having superior availability of resources of the kind contemplated by the question.

C. Under express statutory authority, the Patent Office has regular and recurrent dealings with a number of other Federal agencies having related responsibilities. The principal instances are as follows:

1. The Patent Examining Operation in the Patent Office receives advice and assistance respecting the examining of plant patent applications from the Department of Agriculture under 35 U.S.C. 164. Under 21 U.S.C. 372, advice relating to patent applications on drugs is requested and received from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

2. Under procedures established pursuant to Title 42, U.S.C. Sections 2182 and 2457, the Patent Office through its Security Group collaborates with the Atomic Energy Commission and The National Aeronautics and Space Administration in determining property rights in inventions relating to the utilization of special nuclear material or atomic energy and in inventions having significant utility in the conduct of aeronautical and space activities.

3. Under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 181, the Patent Office through its Security Group collaborates with the Atomic Energy Commission and defense agencies in determining which patent applications contain subject matter which should not be published in the interest of national security and should, therefore, be placed under a secrecy order and not be issued as patents.

4. Under 15 U.S.C. 1116 and 35 U.S.C. 290 the Patent Office receives, records, and publishes notices supplied by the Clerks of the Federal Courts respecting suits filed involving registered trademarks and issued patents.

In addition, the Patent Office regularly has dealings with other Federal agencies, not expressly required by law, on a variety of matters relating to inventions, patents, and trademarks. Examples are as follows:

1. Through its Office of International Patent and Trademark Affairs the Patent Office cooperates with the Department of State in connection with treaties relating to industrial property rights and respecting other international patent and trademark matters.

2. Through its Office of Legislative Planning the Patent Office consults and counsels with the Department of Justice and other in

terested Federal agencies on proposed legislation affecting patents, trademarks, and the Patent Office.

3. Through its Office of the Solicitor the Patent Office deals with the Department of Justice concerning petitions for Supreme Court review of Patent Office proceedings in particular cases and in connection with a variety of legal proceedings involving patents, trademarks, and Patent Office operations. On occasion, evidence of apparent violations of Federal laws is forwarded to the Department of Justice through the General Counsel of the Department of Commerce. On a continuing basis the Solicitor and his staff give advice to other Federal agencies on matters of patent and trademark law and Patent Office practice.

4. Through its Trademark Examining Operation, the Patent Office, upon request by the Customs Bureau on matters arising under 15 U.S.C. 1124, gives opinions on the similarity of marks on goods being imported to registered trademarks. The Trademark Examining Operation also exchanges advice, views, and information with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and other agencies in connection with a variety of matters relating to trademarks and registrability thereof.

5. The connection with its research and development activities, the Office of Research, Development, and Analysis of the Patent Office engages in cooperative activities in that connection, with a number of other Federal agencies and functions as, for example, COSATI of the Office of Science and Technology and the Bureau of Standards.

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D. Ninety-five percent of Patent Office effort and resources goes into the examination of patent applications and related activities. The performance of the Office, therefore, is largely a function of the quality and efficiency of its examination of patent applications and of the services provided to the public in connection with this function. Although efforts have been made over the years, only recently has a program been established under which a truly effective quality evaluation can be made on the work product of a patent professional. This "quality audit" system is currently providing management with a tool by which it can achieve greater accuracy and consistency in decisions on patentability than were heretofore possible. Quality audit findings will be one input to an extensive management information system which is presently under development and which will provide management with warnings as to areas in which, for example, its streamlined examining procedure is operating unsatisfactorily, as well as with information on the basis of which effective corrective action can be taken.

The most vital way in which the Office mission, goals, priorities, procedures and structure are reviewed is through frequent discussion sessions held by the Commissioner and the Office of Planning and Programming at various levels: staff, middle-management, and line professionals. Such sessions are usually project-oriented, with study and discussion centered on a specific area of the Office mission, for example, dissemination of technical information. Studies relating to the area in question are assigned usually to teams of line professionals in such depth as to cover both long- and short-range goals, alternative approaches, staffing and budget required, organizational struc

ture, work flow, and procedures. These studies are reviewed by systems analysts, program planners, and line management, in order that long- and short-range plans may be firmed up. In such endeavors, the basic precepts of PPBS, including cost-benefit, are observed.

If it is found that statutory authority or funding authorization is inadequate in areas where expansion of services provided to the public is considered desirable, appropriate legislative proposals are prepared by the Office of Legislative Planning. Illustrative of this latter situation is the immediate need, as expressed by a number of members of Congress, for establishment of "satellite search centers" at locations about the country remote from the Patent Office. Legislation to fund the very considerable expenses of establishing and furnishing such technical document repositories is currently under study.

III. THIS QUESTIONNAIRE.

Total staff time, review and clerical processing in connection with this questionnaire consumed an estimated thirty-five man hours. Due to the extent to which the Patent Office operates within a highly formalized body of practice and procedure, the frequency of contact with both the legal and the lay public and the variety of decisions made by Patent Office personnel which have a substantial impact on private individuals and groups, the questions tended generally to elicit answers which it is believed would be useful and relevant to the activities of the Subcommittee. In a questionnaire addressed as broadly as this one, none of the individual questions would appear to be inappropriate. Those which might be directed least toward activities in line with the basic mission of the Patent Office would include IC and IIE. The questionnaire would not have been answered more freely if the responses were anonymous.

Response of the Department of Defense: Defense Supply Agency

DEFENSE SUPPLY AGENCY, Alexandria, Va., June 25, 1969. DEAR SENATOR KENNEDY: This is in further response to your letter of May 23, 1969, asking this Agency to respond to a series of questions concerning administrative practices and procedures.

A careful review of the questionnaire enclosed with your letter indicates that the questions to be answered appear to be oriented primarily toward the regulatory type of government agency; i.e. an agency which through its decision-making processes impacts on or influences the eivilian community, such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Interstate Commerce Commission. The Defense Supply Agency (DSA) as a component of the Department of Defense (DoD), is not in any sense a government rule-making or regulatory agency. DSA is a Department of Defense (DoD) service organization with a basic mission of providing logistical support to the Armed Forces. We are governed, in most of the areas covered by your questionnaire, by regulations and directives promulgated by the DoD. Our role is one of imple

menting the policies set forth in these regulations and directive as they apply to DSA.

Although the questionnaire does not appear to be applicable to any large extent to DSA, as your letter requested we have provided answers to your questionnaire which may be of assistance to you.

Sincerely,

R. C. KYSER,
Major General, U.S. Army,
Deputy Director.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONNAIRES OF THE U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY SUBCOMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE AND PRO

CEDURES

I. CITIZENS INVOLVEMENT IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS

A and B. The following responds to questions IA and IB:

1. Private citizens' and citizen groups' input into the agency's decision-making process is solicited and effected primarily by means of Industry Advisory Committees (IACS) established in conjunction with industry and trade associations under guidelines laid down by the DoD and included in DSA Regulation 5030.4. Such committees are used to obtain advice and cooperation from industry in such areas as production, procurement practices, specifications and standardization. The number of such committees varies from year to year depending on current problems and are discontinued once they have served their purpose. There are four Industry Advisory Committees in existence at the present time covering bearings, hardware, dehydrated foods and photographic supplies. As of 30 June 1969, the latter two will have been discontinued.

2. The Defense Supply Agency made use of various industry advisory groups in development of criteria affecting the Defense Industrial Security Program. This program involves the clearance of firms and employees thereof for work on matters of a classified nature. While the policy decisions relevant to this program are vested in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Administration), the program is implemented and administered by the Defense Supply Agency in accordance with DoD Directive 5220.22. Specifically, DSA prepares, coordinates, and publishes the Department of Defense Industrial Security Regulation and Department of Defense Industrial Security Manual for Safeguarding Classified Information. In the development of this package, the following industry groups furnished advice and assistance.

a. Council of Defense and Space Industries Association

(CODSIA).

b. American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS).

c. Aerospace Industries Association (AIA).

d. National Security Industrial Association (NSIA).

e. Electronic Industries Association (EIA).

In addition to the foregoing, in 1969 the DSA sponsored an Industrial Security Executive Seminar with invited representatives of 11 different industrial facilities to solicit their views in the development of improvements under the Industrial Security Program.

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