Category: Patent Office Rules & Procedures

By Donald Zuhn — Earlier this month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register (77 Fed. Reg. 55028) presenting its proposal for setting and adjusting patent fees (see "More on USPTO's Proposed New Fees").  The Office is currently seeking comments from the public regarding the proposed…

By Donald Zuhn — Last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register (77 Fed. Reg. 55028) presenting its proposal for setting and adjusting patent fees.  In proposing new fees, the Office is exercising the fee setting authority conferred upon it by § 10 of the…

By Donald Zuhn — In a Patents Alert e-mail distributed last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it was examining ways to modernize electronic filing.  One proposal, Text2PTO, would allow applicants to submit applications in a text format.  According to the Office's Alert, by submitting a text version of the application, applicants…

By Donald Zuhn — On Wednesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a notice in the Federal Register (77 Fed. Reg. 54360) issuing a final rule regarding the adjustment of certain patent fee amounts for fiscal year 2013 to reflect fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 41(f), the…

By Donald Zuhn — USPTO Seeks Comments on Proposed Fee Schedule Yesterday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it would be publishing a notice in the Federal Register on September 6, 2012, seeking public input on proposed patent fees.  The Office noted that: The proposed fees are at least 22 percent lower for…

By Donald Zuhn — USPTO to Hold Roundtable on AIA First Inventor to File Provisions Earlier this month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a notice in the Federal Register (77 Fed. Reg. 49427) announcing that the Office will be hosting a roundtable on September 6, 2012 to obtain public input from organizations and…

By Donald Zuhn — On Tuesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published six notices in the Federal Register providing five final rules packages for implementing various provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act and a practice guide for proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.  With the publication of the six notices, the…

By Donald Zuhn — On Monday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published its final rule to implement the miscellaneous post patent provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (77 Fed. Reg. 46615).  The final rule, which takes effect on September 16, 2012, is the third final rule package for implementing AIA provisions to be…

By Donald Zuhn — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published its final rule to implement the statute of limitations provisions for office disciplinary proceedings of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (77 Fed. Reg. 45247).  The final rule, which takes effect on August 30, 2012, is the second of several final rule notices that the…