Patent Law Weblog
recent posts
- Reasons for the PTAB’s Priority Determination in Broad’s Favor (Perhaps)
- 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
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Category: Patent Office Rules & Procedures
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By Sarah Fendrick — The Enhanced First Action Interview Pilot Program, first implemented on October 20, 2009, was extended an additional six months beyond the original ending date of April 1, 2010. The program permits applicants to conduct an interview with an examiner after review of a pre-interview communication that discloses the results of…
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By Sarah Fendrick — In a notice published in the Federal Register (75 Fed. Reg. 19558), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cancelled Rule 41.200(b) as a result of the decision rendered in Agilent Technologies, Inc. v. Affymetrix, Inc., 567 F.3d 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009). 37 C.F.R. § 41.200(b) (2004) provides: ''A claim shall…
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Last week, Patent Docs published a post on the recent White Paper issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office regarding provisions contained in the "Managers' Amendment" of the Senate patent reform bill (S. 515) (see "USPTO White Paper Supports Patent Reform Proposals"). The first author of that Paper, Ms. Arti Rai (at right), Administrator…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — On April 13th, the Department of Commerce released a White Paper entitled "Patent Reform: Unleashing Innovation, Promoting Economic Growth & Producing High-Paying Jobs." All admirable goals, but unfortunately the paper is more hortatory than informatory. Disappointingly, department economists, including Mark Doms, the chief department economist, and Stuart Graham, Chief…
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By Sarah Fendrick — In a notice published in the Federal Register (75 Fed. Reg. 15417), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it is seeking nominations for three members to both the Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees. The Public Advisory Committees serve to review the policies, goals, performance, budget, and…
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By Sarah Fendrick — Last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced the launch of a new ombudsman pilot program that will provide patent applicants with more assistance with application processing problems. The new pilot program allows applicants experiencing problems during processing to contact an ombudsman representative. The ombudsman representative will call the…
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By Sarah Fendrick — In a recent notice in the Federal Register (75 Fed. Reg. 15689), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) introduced a new procedure for the review of appeal briefs. The new procedure aims to provide more efficient review of appeal briefs and to reduce the pendency of appeals. Under the…
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By Donald Zuhn — On Friday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a notice in the Federal Register (75 Fed. Reg. 16750) seeking comments regarding a proposed change in practice that would, according to Office press release, effectively provide a 12‑month extension to the existing 12-month provisional application period. In particular, the Office…
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By Sarah Fendrick — On March 25, 2010, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director David Kappos appeared before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Sciences, and Related Agencies for the Committee on Appropriations to seek funds for FY 2011 to enable USPTO operations and to fund a variety of Office initiatives and programs. The…
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By Sarah Fendrick — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced in a March 10, 2010 press release that it has joined forces with the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) to develop a plan to reduce patent processing backlogs in both offices. The joint effort is a result of the hindrance the patent…
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