[Patentpractice] A change in rules for Examiners?

[Brad Czerwonky]

Thanks for sharing the blog post, Timothy. Helpful insights for both applicants and practitioners.


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Bradford R. Czerwonky
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From: Patentpractice <patentpractice-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com> On Behalf Of Timothy Snowden via Patentpractice
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2025 8:44 AM
To: patentpractice at oppedahl-lists.com
Cc: Timothy Snowden <tdsnowden at outlook.com>
Subject: Re: [Patentpractice] A change in rules for Examiners?

Thank you for posting this -- together with Carl's blog article on the phones, and the new Commerce Secretary's stated i͏​​‌͏
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Thank you for posting this -- together with Carl's blog article on the phones, and the new Commerce Secretary's stated intent to reduce backlog, it inspired a post: https://definitivepatents.com/2025/03/12/recent-uspto-changes-point-to-increased-examination-difficulty/<https://links.us1.defend.egress.com/Warning?crId=67d2d3dd16355ef24bd82db5&Domain=taylorenglish.com&Threat=eNpzrShJLcpLzAEADmkDRA%3D%3D&Lang=en&Base64Url=eNoNyEEOgzAMBMAXuaapeulvLMcpKxUnwgaV35M5zpo54sNcrcGROG1Immc8tG9clvLm5cXPwrvpbDpiZCddxb8WNDrmzYDrbhJWyf6ywSXRnSpagx6_vPgGrmImNA%3D%3D&@OriginalLink=definitivepatents.com>
On 3/11/2025 1:46 PM, Judith S via Patentpractice wrote:
I saw this on the Patent Examiner reddit, and thought it was worth sharing:

https://www.reddit.com/r/patentexaminer/comments/1j8ear1/today_sucked/<https://links.us1.defend.egress.com/Warning?crId=67d2d3dd16355ef24bd82db5&Domain=taylorenglish.com&Threat=eNpzrShJLcpLzAEADmkDRA%3D%3D&Lang=en&Base64Url=eNoNyNEKgCAMBdA_8uJb9DMx3CCLqczF6u_z8ZzTfcwdiIhkwlw9la4wDHJpLi9pbWJYqcsT-dqELMM703fMp9zC-AGqWhpa&@OriginalLink=www.reddit.com>

Original Poster said:

Junior here. I just need to vent. I don’t understand how I’m supposed to do my job when I have no one to help me. Struggled all day with a search and was told SCEs can no longer help. Need to transfer some cases, not sure where they should go. SPE was unavailable because they were trying to figure out their RTO, but they don’t know my art anyway. Struggled with claim interpretations that I would usually ask about. Spent a lot of time stuck and frustrated. I do not blame the primaries for not helping, and I hope they continue to hold the line. But man, this really f-ing sucks. I care about my work, and I don’t want to put out shitty actions.

But hey, at least my phone wasn’t working so I didn’t have to field any calls.
Various commenters, many of whom appear to be examiners:

"I was told all SCE (Search and Classification Examiners) time was gone, for everyone."

"we were explicitly told by our SPE to not ask primaries questions, and that our AU was cut to zero other time."

Judith



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