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 Donald Zuhn — On New Year's Eve, we kicked off our third annual list of top biotech/pharma stories by counting down the first three of the top ten stories covered on Patent Docs in 2009 (see "Top Stories of 2009: #10, #9, and #8"). Yesterday, we listed stories #7, #6, and #5 (see…
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By Donald Zuhn — On New Year's Eve, we kicked off our third annual list of top biotech/pharma stories by counting down the first three of the top ten stories covered on Patent Docs in 2009 (see "Top Stories of 2009: #10, #9, and #8"). Today, we count down stories #7, #6, and #5,…
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By Sarah Fendrick — On December 18, 2009, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced the launch of an interactive patent pendency model (PPM). The PPM enables users to see how overall application pendency is affected by the number of examiner hires per year, the amount of overtime worked, and patent filing levels. In…
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By Christopher P. Singer — In a Notice published in the December 17, 2009 Federal Register (74 Fed. Reg. 66955), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced changes to its previously published procedures (October 27, 2009 Federal Register Notice, 74 Fed. Reg. 55200) relating to usage of public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates. According to…
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By Sarah Fendrick — Last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a notice in the Federal Register (74 Fed. Reg. 66097) proposing changes in the procedure for handling notices of appeal and appeal briefs that identify fewer than all of the rejected claims as being appealed. Under the change, rejected claims that…
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By Sarah Fendrick — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) have created a project to improve the overall quality of patents, reduce patent application pendency, and ensure that granted patents are valid. The improvement initiative does not involve changes in patent law or substantive new rules, but…
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By Sarah Fendrick — On November 23, 2009, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and India's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding comprehensive bilateral cooperation on intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement. The MOU was signed in an effort to create a…
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By Sarah Fendrick — In an effort to reduce the backlog of unexamined patent applications pending before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Office has implemented a procedure that allows small entities to have an application accorded special status examination if the applicant expressly abandons another co-pending unexamined application. In a Federal Register…
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By Sarah Fendrick — Effective October 14, 2009, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revised the rules of practice to remove changes arising from the claims and continuations rules from the Code of Federal Regulations. The Federal Register notice stated the changes in the claims and continuation rules "addressed the Office's patent application pendency…
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By Christopher P. Singer — As widely publicized, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director David Kappos launched a blog earlier this month that is intended to engage the public and provide updates regarding USPTO news (see "Director Kappos Joins Blogger Ranks"). In an article posted on November 24, 2009, Director Kappos announced that the…
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