Oblon recently received a letter from the USPTO's Office of the Commissioner for Patents in response to our request that the USPTO revise rules requiring disclosure of information relating an inventor's residential address. Our request was motivated in part by the upcoming implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union, which strictly regulates the disclosure of any data that could be used to directly or indirectly identify a person (i.e. "personal data"). In its letter, the USPTO informed Oblon that (1) a working group was assembled to consider, review, and recommend ways that USPTO regulations can be improved, revised, and streamlined; and (2) Oblon's proposal was forwarded to the working group. We are pleased that the PTO is taking action on our request and are hopeful that they will adopt some of the specific recommendations.
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