696 Appeals and Petitions

The following are the procedures for filing appeals and petitions:

1. Any Postal Service employee inventor who is aggrieved by the initial determination as to the rights of the Postal Service in any invention may appeal by filing two copies of an appeal with the Postal Service’s Procurement Policy Committee within 30 days after receiving notice of the initial determination by the Patent Counsel. The committee forwards one copy of the appeal to the Patent Counsel.
2. On receipt of a copy of an appeal, the Patent Counsel promptly furnishes both the committee and the employee a report containing:
1. A detailed statement of the points of dispute or controversy.
2. Copies of any statements or written arguments filed with the Patent Counsel.
3. Any other relevant evidence that was considered in making the initial determination of Postal Service interest.
3. Within 30 days after the mailing or hand delivery of a copy of the Patent Counsel’s report to the inventor, the employee may file a reply with the committee, furnishing a copy to the Patent Counsel.
4. After the expiration of the period for reply to the Patent Counsel’s report, the committee issues a decision on the matter. The committee’s decision is made after consideration of the statements of fact in the inventor’s appeal, the Patent Counsel’s report, and the inventor’s reply; but the committee, at its discretion, may call for further statements on specific questions of fact or may request additional evidence.
5. The employee may file a petition for reconsideration or modification of the committee’s decision within 30 days from the date of the decision. The decision is final after the period for filing a reconsideration request expires or on the date that a decision on reconsideration is made or reconsideration is denied.