News & Analysis as of

Intellectual Property Protection Patent Examinations

Bennett Jones LLP

Fast Tracks and Green Gaps Part I: Planting the Future: Why Canada’s IP System May Be the Climate Innovation Sleeper Hit

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Climate change is driving a surge in agricultural technology (agri-tech) innovations aimed at making farming more resilient and sustainable. From drought-resistant crops to carbon-capturing soil techniques, these...more

BakerHostetler

Navigating Patent Eligibility in the Age of AI: Strategic Insights from the USPTO’s August 2025 Guidance

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The August 4, 2025 memorandum (Memo) issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) clarifies how examiners should approach subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Importantly, the Memo provides critical...more

Loeb & Loeb LLP

White House Executive Order Disbands Patent Examiners’ Union

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On Thursday, August 28, 2025, the President of the United States issued an Executive Order which effectively disbanded the union representing patent examiners (POPA). As a justification, the Order stated patent examiners are...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

IP Hot Topic: The USPTO Publishes Reminders to Examiners on Evaluating Subject Matter Eligibility

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a memorandum on August 4, 2025, to provide reminders to Examiners in software-related arts, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, regarding...more

MoFo Tech

USPTO Internal Memo Suggests that Patenting AI Inventions May Become Easier

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The USPTO has issued an internal memorandum that may make it easier to patent software, in particular AI-related software inventions. In recent years, the USPTO has found certain software inventions to be patent-ineligible...more

Smart & Biggar

CIPO announces end to accelerated trademark examination, upcoming changes to pre-approved terms, and anticipated nine-month wait...

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On July 16, 2025, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) announced new practices related to trademark examination and the acceptance of recommendations for pre-approved goods and services....more

Quarles & Brady LLP

AI Search Tool Coming to Design Patent Examination

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced the rollout of DesignVision, an advanced AI‑powered image search tool now integrated into the examination system for U.S. design patent applications. According to the...more

ArentFox Schiff

USPTO Raises Annual Cap on Prioritized Patent Examination Requests

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The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has finalized a rule increasing the annual limit on accepted requests for prioritized patent examination from 15,000 to 20,000, effective with fiscal year 2025 (FY 2025). This...more

McCarter & English, LLP

What to Do Now That the USPTO Accelerated Examination Program Is Ending

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) introduced the Accelerated Examination program in 2006 to help applicants receive expedited examination of important patent applications. The USPTO is ending the Accelerated...more

Quarles & Brady LLP

USPTO Expediting Design Patent Issuances and De-Expediting Design Examination

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Starting May 13, 2025, the USPTO has begun accelerating the issuance of patents after the issue fee has been paid. Specifically, the duration between the Issue Notification and the Issue Date will be reduced to approximately...more

Lathrop GPM

USPTO Announces Patent Fee Hikes for 2025

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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced on Wednesday that patent-related fees will be raised starting January 19, 2025 to offset forecasted increases in operating cost....more

Kilpatrick

5 Key Takeaways | Alice at 10: A Section 101 Update

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It’s been 10 years since Alice was decided. Kilpatrick’s Steve Borgman and Andrew Saul recently presented at the 29th Annual Advanced Patent Law Institute in Austin, Texas, on recent cases and trends in the courts and the...more

Quarles & Brady LLP

Recent Examination Manual Update Includes Guidance on Protection of Computer-Generated Designs

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The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (“MPEP”) is the examination manual used internally at the United States Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”) to guide examiners in the process of examining patent applications. In...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

End of an Era: PTO Terminates AFCP 2.0 Amid Fee Concerns

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The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced the termination of the After Final Consideration Pilot Program (AFCP) 2.0, effective December 15, 2024. Launched in 2013, AFCP 2.0 aimed to streamline the patent examination...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Discontinuation of AFCP 2.0: Strategic Adjustments for Patent Applicants

Troutman Pepper Locke on

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced the discontinuation of the After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 (AFCP 2.0) program, effective December 15, 2024. This change necessitates a strategic shift for patent...more

Strafford

[Webinar] USPTO Examiner Interview Strategies: Preparing for and Conducting Interviews to Advance Patent Prosecution - June 27th,...

Strafford on

This CLE course will guide patent counsel on leveraging interviews with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent examiners to prosecute patents more efficiently. The panel will provide insight into...more

Paul Hastings LLP

Intellectual Property Considerations for AI Companies: A Guide for Investors and Startups

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In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI, the valuation and viability of AI companies are extensively tied to their intellectual property assets. For AI companies, safeguarding these assets is not just about legal...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

Strategies for Successful Patent Owner Reexamination Requests

Takeaways: - Patent owner requested reexaminations are not an admission of claim unpatentability. - Patent owners can and should control the reexamination request narrative. Patent owners must consider the pros and...more

Kilpatrick

Updated Guidelines for Patent Examination in the European Patent Office Create Uncertainty for Patentability of AI Technology

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On March 1, 2024, updated Guidelines for Examination (“Guidelines”) in the European Patent Office (“EPO”) went into effect. The updated Guidelines included substantive changes with broad implications for the patentability of...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

Fixing Unintentional Duty of Disclosure and Candor Issues Through Supplemental Examination

A significant procedure for patent owners, Supplemental Examination, was established in the 2012 America Invents Act when Congress determined there should be a proceeding to turn events that in the past could lead to...more

Knobbe Martens

USPTO Issues Training Materials to Examiners for Searching FDA and NIH Resources

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On March 20, 2024, The USPTO issued an alert, notifying practitioners that the USPTO had developed training materials for patent examiners regarding searching for prior art in FDA and NIH databases. ...more

Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP

Artificial Intelligence the Focus of New USPTO Patent Examiner Guidance

The burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) sector received a boost late last year with President Biden’s “Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.” It directed the...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

When Will the LLM Patent Wave Hit?

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Major technology paradigm shifts are typically followed by a wave of patent application filings. If you don’t believe that, a quick patent search will validate this for your technology of choice. What you’ll also find is...more

Knobbe Martens

USPTO Says Wands Still Controls Enablement Analysis Post-Amgen

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On January 9, 2024, the USPTO published guidelines for its patent examiners when evaluating compliance with the enablement requirement in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Amgen Inc. et al. v. Sanofi et...more

MoFo Tech

Top 10 Considerations In Licensing Cleantech Innovations

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Spurred by both planetary and economic needs, the industry commonly referred to as “cleantech”—short for “clean technology”—has been on the rise. Current estimates predict clean energy technologies could dominate oil and gas...more

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