Independent Inventors

Chief Financial Officer

First Name Last Name
Street
City, State ZIP
Today’s Date
Dear First Name Last Name:
As an independent inventor residing in the United States, we would greatly appreciate your participation
in a brief survey sponsored by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
We are trying to improve our internal efficiency and the quality of the services we provide to you. To
accomplish this, we need more accurate and comprehensive information on the future demand for patent
protection. We have initiated the “USPTO Patent Application Forecasting Program” to improve our
forecasting, and this survey is a major part of that program. We will refine and improve this process over
the next several years and hope that we can count on your continuing support.
For your convenience, the USPTO is providing two methods -- mail or internet -- for you to respond:

1. A copy of the questionnaire is enclosed. You may complete and return your copy
in the business reply envelope provided.
2. You may take advantage of our on-line option to complete the survey accessing
the following URL, www.synovate.net/uspto and use the 6-digit access code,
xxxxxx.
The enclosed questionnaire asks you to provide the total number of utility patent applications you filed in
2006 and expected filings in 2007 to 2009. In addition, we would like to know how many patent
applications you expect to file abroad.
Your participation is voluntary. The USPTO and Synovate have established standards and procedures to
assure that all responses remain strictly confidential. The purpose of the USPTO Patent Application
Forecasting Program is to compile information on patent trends at the macro level and not at the firm or
individual level. All records housed by Synovate will separate corporate identity from response data, and
the names of the participating firms or individuals and their corresponding responses are not released to
anyone, including the USPTO. In addition, the survey information obtained from each respondent is
recorded and maintained in a secure database by Synovate for about 90 days.
Please return the enclosed questionnaire using the pre-addressed postage paid envelope or complete the
survey online by February 16, 2007. Please contact Michael Randell at Synovate at 301-526-4789 or at
[email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Barry K. Hudson
Chief Financial Officer

P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 – WWW.USPTO.GOV