Patent Law Weblog
recent posts
- Apple v. Squires: USPTO Director Has Unlimited Discretion on IPR Institution
- The Ghost in the Machine: Why GenAI Can Be Both a Brilliant Researcher and a Terrible Advocate
- Bayer Files Suit Against Trio of COVID-19 Vaccine Makers
- Allen v. Cooper (4th Cir. 2026)
- To Require an Inventor ID, or Not to Require an Inventor ID – That Is the Question
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Category: Patent Prosecution
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By Donald Zuhn — It is natural at this time of year to reflect upon the events of the past twelve months in the hope that such a review might provide some indication of what to expect in the coming year. In order to help focus on possible developments in biotech and pharma…
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By Donald Zuhn — On Monday, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) President and CEO Jim Greenwood released a statement regarding the 2007 Performance and Accountability Report issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on November 15th (see "USPTO Announces "Record Breaking" 2007 Performance"). At the time of the report’s release, the Patent Office…
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By Donald Zuhn — Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has received a German patent (DE 10080167) in the "Kreutzer-Limmer I" patent series. According to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics company, the Kreutzer-Limmer I patent series is one of three "fundamental patent" families that Alnylam has exclusively licensed and which…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — Let’s put our cards on the table. The zeitgeist in the patent world these days is that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office engaged in a frenzy of granting "bad" patents over the past few years, and that the issue of patent "quality" has caused a crisis in…
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By Jason Derry — When a patent practitioner receives an invention disclosure form, one or more persons will be listed as connected to the invention. It’s easy to get into the practice of simply listing all of those on the invention disclosure form as inventors when filing the application. However, if that list…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — It’s getting harder and harder for patentees, applicants, and their counsel to know who their friends are. First there was the silence of the major industry groups in the face of the new continuation and claim limitations rules since enjoined by Judge Cacheris in the Federal District Court…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — As reported earlier today on the PLI Patent Blog, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) last Thursday sent a letter to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Jon Dudas (at right), asking the Director to delay implementation of the new continuation and claims rules (see 72 Fed. Reg. 46716). In…
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By Donald Zuhn — Over the past week, Patent Docs has reported on two challenges to new IDS rules proposed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("Changes to Information Disclosure Statement Requirements and Other Related Matters," 71 Fed. Reg. 38,808). The USPTO’s new IDS rules would require applicants to, inter alia, provide…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — The term "the tragedy of the anti-commons" assumed a cache of avant-garde radicalism since its coining by Heller and Eisenberg in 1998. That cache was less alluring the more the listener knew of either patent law or academic science practices, but it certainly attracted "progressive" pundits and policymakers…
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By Christopher P. Singer — Given the growing popularity of the USPTO’s web-based electronic filing system (EFS-Web) and the Office’s continuing efforts to improve the system, there has never been a better time to start filing documents with the Patent Office electronically. Many of the initial glitches have been resolved, and the electronic…
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