New Jobs Posted Now as USPTO Gears Up for an Onslaught by Nicole Schultheis

New Jobs Posted Now as USPTO Gears Up for an Onslaught by Nicole SchultheisNew Jobs Posted Now as USPTO Gears Up for an Onslaught by Nicole SchultheisNew Jobs Posted Now as USPTO Gears Up for an Onslaught by Nicole Schultheisby Nicole Schultheis, Attorney-at-LawOn September 16, 2011, President Obama signed the America Invents Act, overhauling our patent system in order to stimulate our nations economic growth. At the same time, he announced new initiatives designed to help entrepreneurs create jobs. binnensee whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/16/president-obama-signs-america-invents-act-overhauling-patent-system-stim.The historic patent reform legislation is intended to speed the patent process so that products can be brought to market faster. Among other things it provides a fast track option for patent processing within 12 months, cutting the average wait time by a factor of 3.Although the legislation is intended to spur future jobs in the private sector, it is creating jobs in the public sector now. The new law provides additional resources allowing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to continue to combat a backlog of nearly 700,000 patent applications.On USAJobs.gov today, there are dozens of jobs posted for USPTO, representing approximately one in five of all jobs posted for the entire Department of Commerce. Posted positions include four for patent judges, two of which are in cutting edge fields (biotechnology and IT). Two are Senior Executive Service (SES) positions, including a new Director of Planning and Budget and a senior level trademark attorney. All posted positions are graded at GS-11 and above, covering broad areas of expertise, among other things, public affairs, security, engineers, economists, educators, and document management specialists.The new law provides additional incentives to help move ideas from bench to bedside. NIH, for example, will establish a new National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). NCAT S will help biomedical entrepreneurs develop ways to reduce the costs and time needed to develop new drugs and diagnostics. An initial project involves partnering with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to hilfe development of a chip to screen for safe and effective drugs far more swiftly and efficiently than takes place now.In a related development, USPTO will collaborate with the National Science Foundation and Small Business Administration to help emerging technology companies take advantage of the USPTOs small business programs and resources. The USPTO pilot will support 100 grants, with more expected as the program takes off. This is designed to fit hand-in-glove with the accelerated examination process provided under the new America Invents Act. Again, this suggests additional federal jobs will be created as well.Those who wish to apply for current openings need to act swiftly. As has been widely reported, USAJobs is about to undergo its long awaited overhau l. Scheduled to be offline from October 6 to 12, 2011 (although they have been cagey about the precise dates until recently), USAJobs postings now all reflect closing dates of October 3 or sooner. Since new or unfilled positions will not be posted until some time later this year, prudence dictates applying for these positions now. Although avuecentral.com will continue to post jobs for their agencies Peace Corps, Forest Service, US Marshalls Office, Millennium Challenge, etc., and other agencies may accept applications via email, fax, and even the US Postal Service, all announcements for USPTO positions state prominently that applicants must apply online, meaning, through USAJobs.gov. In other words, if you are interested in a USPTO job, youve no time to wasteRead More About the USAJOBS 3.0 SystemLearn how The Resume Place can help you with your Federal Resume Writing every step of the way