Form G246 Pro Se Feedback Questions

Pro se

Welcome

OMB Control No. 0651-0080
Expiration Date: 8/31/2018

Thank you very much for volunteering your time and providing your
feedback regarding your experiences with the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO). Your voluntary response will be confidential
and data will be analyzed in aggregated format only. The survey is designed
to measure your opinion about the services that the USPTO provides for
you as an applicant filing without legal representation. The results from
this voluntary survey will assist us in guiding improvements and
enhancements in the future.
The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. For general
questions regarding the purpose of the survey, contact Darnell Jayne
([email protected]). If you encounter any problems with the survey
instrument, contact Michael Easdale ([email protected]).

Click 'Next' below to begin the survey.
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, persons are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid
OMB Control Number. The valid OMB control number of this information collection is 0651‐0080. This survey will gather feedback
from applicants who file without legal representation. The USPTO will aggregate all responses and use the data gathered to determine
how best to improve its Pro Se services. The USPTO estimates that it will take respondents approximately 15 minutes to complete the
survey. This collection of information is voluntary in accordance with E.O. 12862, “Setting Customer Service Standards.” All
responses will remain confidential and are protected under the “Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of
2002.”

1

Pro se

Experience

1. Indicate your level of experience filing nonprovisional application(s) for patent, on your own (i.e., pro se).
This was the first time that I have filed a nonprovisional patent application.
I have filed up to 3 nonprovisional patent applications.
I have filed 4 or more nonprovisional patent applications

2. Where are you in the patent process with your most recent nonprovisional application for patent?
I have received a notice concerning missing parts of my application and am preparing a response.
My application is assigned to an examiner and I’m waiting for an office action.
I received an office action from an examiner and I’m preparing a response.
I have received a notice that my application is allowed.
My application has been issued as a patent.
I am no longer pursuing my patent application.
I received a notice that my application is abandoned.
I don’t know the status of my application.

2

3. For your most recently filed nonprovisional application for patent, please indicate what type of private
legal assistance outside of the USPTO, if any, you have received (select all that apply):
I hired an attorney or agent to write my application.
I hired an attorney or agent to file my application.
I hired an attorney or agent for prosecuting my application prior to receiving any USPTO communication.
I hired an attorney or agent after receiving a pre-examination notice from the USPTO.
I hired an attorney or agent after receiving an office action from the examiner.
I received Pro bono assistance (i.e., free legal advice).
I have been accepted into the Law School Clinic Assistance Program.
I have not received private legal assistance outside of the USPTO.
Other (please specify below)

4. If you contacted the USPTO for assistance, please indicate where you received your information (select
all that apply):
Pro se Assistance Program
Visited www.USPTO.gov
Inventor Assistance Center
Help number listed on a notice received from the USPTO
Examiner assigned to my nonprovisional application
Ombudsman Program
I have not received assistance from the USPTO
Other (please specify below)

3

Pro se

Pro Se Assistance Program Satisfaction

5. Please, rate your satisfaction specifically with the customer service of the USPTO Pro Se Assistance
Program with regard to:
Neither
Very
Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied Dissatisfied or Satisfied

Satisfied

Very
Satisfied

Received prompt response after initial inquiry
Ability to put you in contact with the right USPTO personnel
responsible for facilitating your inquiry
Keeping you informed of the status of your inquiry
Timeliness to address issue(s)
Knowledge of person who dealt with addressing inquiry
Overall Satisfaction

6. How likely are you to recommend the USPTO Pro se Assistance Program to others?
Definitely Not

Probably Not

May or May Not

Probably Would

Definitely Would

4

Pro se

Assistance and Challenge

7. When receiving a correspondence from the USPTO, were the requirements set forth in the notice clear
to you without assistance?
Yes, I understood what I needed to do to meet all requirements in the notice.
No, I had no idea what I needed to do to meet any of the requirements in the notice.
I understood what I needed to do to meet part of the requirements in the notice.
I have not received any correspondence from the USPTO

8. When receiving a correspondence from the USPTO, were the requirements clear to youwith assistance?
N/A, I have not received any assistance regarding requirements
Yes, I understood what I needed to do to meet all the requirements in the notice.
No, I had no idea what I needed to do to meet any of the requirements in the notice.
I understood what I needed to do to meet part of the requirements in the notice.
I have not received any correspondence from the USPTO

5

9. For each area listed below, use the dropdown boxes to answer A) Did you receive USPTO
assistance and B) how challenging was the area considering your most recent application?
Did you receive assistance
from the USPTO on this
particular item?

How challenging was this area for you? (if received, rate the
challenge AFTER USPTO assistance)

Preparing a nonprovisional
application for patent
Drafting claims to my invention
Drawing requirements
Finding forms/information about the
patent process at www.uspto.gov
Filling out forms
Registering to be able to file follow-on
papers online via EFS
Responding properly to USPTO
notices
Replying to an examiner’s Office
action
Requesting an interview with the
examiner
Understanding terminology
Making amendments to my
nonprovisional patent application
Determining what fees I owe, and
how much they are
Process after receiving a notice of
allowance
Understanding why I did not receive a
patent
Other (please specify below)

6

Pro se

Overall Patent Process

10. Based on your most recently filed nonprovisional application for patent, please rate your overall
satisfaction with the patent process:
Very Dissatisfied

Dissatisfied

Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied

Satisfied

Very Satisfied

11. Based on your most recently filed nonprovisional application for patent, would you file another patent
application?
Yes
No
Unsure

7

Pro se

Exit Page

12. Please enter any additional comments. We especially would like to hear your ideas on making the
patent process easier.

Thank you for taking our survey. Clicking 'Done' below will submit your responses.

8