USPTO Posts Comments on Notice of Inquiry re Settlement Discussions

"In the April 22, 2011 issue of the Federal Register (76 Fed. Reg. 22678) the USPTO published a Notice of Inquiry titled “Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Participation in Settlement Discussions” [TTABlogged here] which sought comments from stakeholders on various questions set forth in the notice. The Board received comments from four individuals, three law firms and four intellectual property organizations." Here is the link to PTO webpage. By my estimate one individual and one law firm favor mandatory settlement discussions with Board participation, while the rest do not. I found the comments of former TTAB Judge Beth A. Chapman to be particularly interesting.