While U.S. patent practitioners have been focusing on the changes to U.S. patent law embodied in the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), Congress has taken additional steps to harmonize and streamline patent application...more
In a Federal Register Notice published on May 17, 2013, the USPTO announced After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 (AFCP 2.0) as part of its ongoing efforts to “reduce pendency by reducing the number of Requests for...more
The USPTO still is considering information gathered during its RCE Outreach program, but it has made some internal changes that should lead to more prompt examination after a Request for Examination (RCE) is filed....more
In In re Morsa, the Federal Circuit reversed an anticipation rejection where the applicant had challenged the enabling quality of the cited prior art reference, even though the applicant had not submitted evidence in support...more
On March 25, 2013, the USPTO published final rule changes to “Implement the Technical Corrections to the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act as to Inter Partes Review.” The rule changes have an effective date of March 25, 2013,...more
On April 1, 2013, the USPTO published an “interim final rule” relating to Patent Term Adjustment (PTA), to implement changes to the PTA statute embodied in the AIA Technical Corrections Act. Although the rule changes have an...more
Now that the first-inventor-to-file provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA) have taken effect, stakeholders should understand how to preserve the first-to-invent status of patent applications that were filed before March...more
The USPTO’s final First Inventor To File rules and Examination Guidelines were published in the February 14, 2013 edition of the Federal Register. While many of the final rules are identical to the proposed rules, there are...more
In a Federal Register Notice published January, 13, 2013, the USPTO asks the public to consider potential best practices aimed at improving patent application quality ”in order to facilitate examination and bring more...more
The USPTO and other patent offices around the world are studying the feasibility of the international harmonization of patent laws....more
On January 14, 2013, President Obama signed HR 6621 into law. The title of HR 6621 is “To correct and improve certain provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act,” but it also makes changes to other provisions of U.S....more
In a decision granting (in part) a Request for Inter Partes Review, the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) held that an infringement complaint that was dismissed without prejudice did not bar the Request for Inter...more
Next week (February 4, 2013) is the deadline for submitting comments in response to the USPTO’s request for feedback on Request for Continued Examination (RCE) practice. (This article provides more information on the request...more
A number of Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) cases have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia since the November 1, 2012 decision in Exelixis, Inc. v. Kappos. While most have presented...more
The USPTO has published the new patent fee structure that it is implementing pursuant to its fee-setting authority under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA)....more
The USPTO promotes the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) as a way to “fast-track” a U.S. patent application when a corresponding foreign application has been allowed, or when a corresponding PCT application has received a...more
As of today, we are two months from March 15, 2013–the last day to secure an effective filing date under the current “first to invent” patent system. While we still are waiting for the USPTO to publish its final rules...more
As expected, the USPTO has filed a Notice of Appeal in the Exelixis patent term adjustment (PTA) case....more
The USPTO has published final rules governing the new Micro Entity status that will permit certain patent applicants to pay certain patent fees at a 75% reduced rate....more
The USPTO has published “Tips for Filing a Compliant Supplemental Examination Request” on its AIA Implementation Web page. According to the notice, the USPTO has received six requests for Supplemental Examination, but...more
Last year, on November 23, 2011, the USPTO announced that it was considering collecting information on patent ownership and requiring disclosure of patent ownership information throughout the patent application process....more
The USPTO is seeking public comments on Request for Continued Examination (RCE) practice. In particular, the USPTO is “soliciting public feedback in an effort to better understand the full spectrum of factors that impact the...more
In another significant Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) case decided last week (Novartis AG v. Kappos, Civ. Action No. 10-cv-1138 (Nov. 15, 2012)), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that Novartis could...more