Category: Patent Office Rules & Procedures

Updated Information about Digital Certificates     By Christopher P. Singer — In an e-mail notification sent January 31, 2008, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provided its latest e-Commerce Update, which included a link to recent information regarding the use and recovery of digital certificates, which are required to access Private PAIR and use…

    By Christopher P. Singer — As reported on Patent Docs earlier this month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced in a January 28, 2008 notice that the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) have now entered Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot projects with the USPTO.  The…

    By Donald Zuhn — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) have announced that the two Offices will begin a new work-sharing pilot program on January 28, 2008.  The pilot program, which the Offices are calling the "New Route," will allow each Office to benefit from examinations…

    By Christopher P. Singer — In a Notice signed January 22, 2008, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that the language of oaths and declarations filed on or after June 1, 2008 will have to comply with the express language of 37 C.F.R. § 1.63.  That is, oaths and declarations will need…

  By Jason Derry — In accordance with its 21st Century Strategic Plan, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had previously partnered with two foreign patent offices on a Patent Prosecution Highway pilot program (PPH).  The first PPH began in July 2006 with the Japanese Patent Office, and the second PPH began on September 4,…

    By Christopher P. Singer — In an e-mail notification sent today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provided its latest e-Commerce Update, which included information regarding how to change attached files in a saved EFS-Web submission, EFS-Web 1.2 training updates, and the recurring theme of proper completion of Form PTO/SB/39 for successful electronic…

    By Kevin E. Noonan — In the run-up to the planned implementation of the Patent and Trademark Office’s misguided new rules limiting continuation applications and claims (enjoined on October 31st by Judge Cacheris sitting in the Eastern District of Virginia), the Office made very clear its intention to strictly enforce the rules once…

    By Donald Zuhn — Last November, on the heels of the Eastern District of Virginia’s decision to preliminarily enjoin the new continuation and claims rules, we offered a number of proposals that might help remedy the problems facing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  Among our proposed alternatives to the Patent Office’s draconian…