USPTO Seeks Public Comment on Updated Standard Protective Order For Use in TTAB Proceedings | Practical Law

USPTO Seeks Public Comment on Updated Standard Protective Order For Use in TTAB Proceedings | Practical Law

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has released for public comment an updated Standard Protective Order for use in Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings.

USPTO Seeks Public Comment on Updated Standard Protective Order For Use in TTAB Proceedings

by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 05 Aug 2015 • USA (National/Federal)
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has released for public comment an updated Standard Protective Order for use in Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings.
The USPTO has released for public comment a draft of an updated Standard Protective Order for use in Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings. The Standard Protective Order applies to all proceedings pending or commenced after August 31, 2007, but parties may substitute a mutually-agreed upon protective order with approval by the TTAB, or file a motion to use an alternative order.
The updates to the Standard Protective Order include:
  • Making the order automatically effective without the parties' signatures.
  • Expanding the scope of information that may be designated for protection under the order to explicitly include:
    • electronically stored information;
    • testimony provided during either a discovery deposition or a testimony deposition, orally or in writing; and
    • any other information produced during a TTAB proceeding, whether informally, as part of mandatory disclosures or in response to formal discovery methods.
  • Changing the designation "Highly Confidential" to "Confidential - Attorneys' Eyes Only" and explicitly including the following types of information in the category:
    • sensitive or competitive technical and business information;
    • personal health or medical information; and
    • personal financial information.
  • Expanding parties' obligations under the order to the retention and destruction of information as well as handling and storage.
  • Requiring electronically filed documents to comply with redaction and processing guidelines set forth in the order.
  • Providing for the TTAB to take steps to address a party's overdesignation of information as confidential, even if another party does not contest the designation.
Interested parties may comment through the TTAB's online policy collaboration tool.