With the flurry of activity surrounding the implementation of the AIA, it is easy to miss some of the announcements about public hearings and the opportunity for public comment. One of my biotech colleagues pointed out to me that TODAY is the deadline to register to present oral testimony concerning the PTO’s required study of genetic diagnostic testing.
To register to present oral testimony at either the hearing in Washington, D.C. on February 16, 2012 or in San Diego on March 9, 2012, my understanding is that one should email the following information to Saurabh Vishnubhakat at saurabh.vishnubhakat@uspto.gov: (1) The name of the person wishing to testify; (2) the person’s contact information (telephone number and email address); (3) the organization(s) the person represents, if any; (4) an indication of the amount of time needed for the testimony; and (5) a preliminary written copy of the testimony. The PTO noted that the public hearings would be made available via a webcast.
For more information on the hearings and the PTO press release see this link on the PatentDocs blog.