Patent Law Weblog
recent posts
- Mexico Publishes Amendments to Intellectual Property Law
- PTAB (Again) Awards Priority of Invention to Broad in Interference No. 106,115
- Argentina Repeals Pharmaceutical Patent Examination Guidelines
- USPTO Moves to Protect Design Rights for Digital Innovations
- Judicial Conduct and Disability Committee Has Its Say, Denies Judge Newman’s Latest Request for Review
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Category: Patent Office Rules & Procedures
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By Donald Zuhn – USPTO Extends After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 Program Last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office indicated on its website and through a Patents Alert e-mail that the After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 (AFCP 2.0) program has been extended through September 30, 2016. The AFCP, which was implemented in April 2012…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — More than three years after the June 15, 2012 deadline for providing it, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued its report on so-called "second opinion" genetic diagnostic testing, mandated by Section 27 of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. With (evidently in the eyes of Patent Office officials) the…
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By Andrew Williams — On August 25, 2015, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published a "Request for Comments on a Proposed Pilot Program Exploring an Alternative Approach to Institution Decisions in Post Grant Administrative Reviews" in the Federal Register (80 Fed. Reg. 51540). This is the second request for comments related to the…
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By Michael Borella — On July 30, 2015, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office updated its subject matter eligibility guidance ("Eligibility Update"). This update provides recommendations and resources for examiners in addition to those in the Office's 2014 Interim Guidance on Subject Matter Eligibility. In particular, the Office addressed several broad themes from comments it…
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By Donald Zuhn — Last week, in Immersion Corp. v. HTC Corp., the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) filed a brief as amicus curiae in support of Plaintiff-Appellant Immersion Corp. In that case, the District Court for the District of Delaware construed 35 U.S.C. § 120 to prohibit filing a continuation application on the day its…
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By Donald Zuhn — USPTO to Replace EFS-Web and PAIR In an article posted on the Director's Forum blog, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Deputy Director Russ Slifer announced that the Office would begin implementing a new system that will eventually replace the EFS-Web, Public PAIR, and Private PAIR. The new initiative, eCommerce Modernization (eMod),…
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By Donald Zuhn — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced earlier today that U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker has appointed Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy Drew Hirshfeld to be the new Commissioner for Patents effective immediately. Mr. Hirshfeld should be familiar to readers of this space for his role, as Deputy Commissioner…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — Pursuant to the Notice published in the Federal Register today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provided additional materials related to the Office's interpretation of what does (and what does not) satisfy the subject matter eligibility requirement of 35 U.S.C. § 101 (as interpreted by the Supreme Court). What was…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will publish a Notice on July 30th that the Office is updating their procedures for determining subject matter eligibility. A copy of this Notice can be found here. The update will contain three appendices: • Appendix 1 provides new examples that are illustrative of…
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By Donald Zuhn — Earlier this month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced two new collaborations with the Japan Patent Office. In a press release issued on July 1, the USPTO announced an agreement with the JPO in which the JPO will act as an available International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining…
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