PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Who Owns AI Innovation? IP in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
5 Key Takeaways | Making Sense of §102 Public Use and On Sale Bars to Patentability
Unexpected Paths to IP Law with Dan Young and Colin White
5 Key Takeaways | AI and Your Patent Management, Strategy & Portfolio
Wolf Greenfield Attorneys Review 2024 and Look Ahead to 2025
(Podcast) The Briefing: A Very Patented Christmas – The Quirkiest Inventions for the Holiday Season
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5 Key Takeaways | Alice at 10: A Section 101 Update
New Developments in Obviousness-Type Double Patenting and Original Patent Requirements — Patents: Post-Grant Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Artificial Intelligence Patents & Emerging Regulatory Laws
John Harmon on the Evolving Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Intellectual Property
Rob Sahr on the Administration’s Aggressive Approach to Bayh-Dole Compliance
The Briefing: The Patent Puzzle: USPTO's Guidelines for AI Inventions
The Briefing: The Patent Puzzle: USPTO's Guidelines for AI Inventions (Podcast)
Wolf Greenfield Attorneys Preview What’s Ahead in 2024
Noteworthy Points in the Rules for the Implementation of China's Patent Law 2023
5 Key Takeaways | Best Practices in Patent Drafting: Addressing 112 and Enablement after Amgen
Third Party Observation in Patent Prosecution in China
Building a Cost-Effective Global Patent Portfolio Using the Netherlands
Greater Speed and Efficiency: Steps IP Offices Around the World Are Taking to Streamline the Patent Process
The U.S. Patent Office’s program for expedited examination of design applications under 37 CFR 1.155 (often called the design “rocket docket”), which was suspended earlier this year, was formally canceled in an amended...more
Over the past couple of years we have discussed the important role a broadening or narrowing reissue can play in proper portfolio development and resuscitation of a patent or patent family after invalidation in court or the...more
For startup founders and CTOs navigating the patent landscape, understanding the prosecution timeline is essential for strategic planning and resource allocation. After filing your patent application with the USPTO, the...more
A recent decision issued by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) concerning a patent application filed by a game developer company Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. (Bandai Namco) serves as a useful example for informing...more
On August 4, the USPTO issued a Memorandum to examiners in Technology Centers 2100, 2600, and 3600, providing reminders and clarifications on evaluating subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. This guidance is...more
Reissue applications represent a very small fraction of the total number of applications filed at the USPTO each year. Indeed, at the midpoint of 2025, over 1.2 million utility applications have been filed, with less than 300...more
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
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
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
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
Canadian Patent Examination - Significant fee increases will be effective at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (“CIPO”) on October 3, 2022 related to excess claims (claims over 20) and the number of examination...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office handles hundreds of thousands of patent applications per year, as well as various types of administrative patent proceedings. While the USPTO has made incremental improvements in its...more
Patent examiners have a hard job. They are given a relatively short amount of time in which they are supposed to thoroughly review a patent application, search for relevant prior art, and write a well-reasoned Office...more
Patent Prosecution Highway or PPH is a set of initiatives promulgated by participating patent offices around the world to accelerate patent prosecution in countries of the participating patent offices. PPH allows the...more
As the world pivoted to navigate obstacles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the USPTO not only adapted to address the challenges, but appeared to make the most of this period by improving existing procedures. Partner...more
If last week’s post on prosecution disclaimer left you hoping for more decisions about the patent application process, you're in luck. This week we're covering another case about patent prosecution and the somewhat rare...more
Patent prosecution—everything that takes places after a patent application is filed until it issues—can be a complex and lengthy process. A majority of time and attention is usually spent on getting a patent application...more
Patent examiners operate under a complex network of production and quality incentives that influence the likelihood that an examiner will allow or reject a given patent application. In an empirical study published in the...more
Examiner interviews are often indispensable to advance prosecution of a U.S. patent application, and interviews can help advance prosecution in the vast majority of applications. The Midwest Regional U.S. Patent and Trademark...more
It can be difficult to advance prosecution of a U.S. patent application efficiently and effectively after prosecution has been closed and an Advisory Action has been mailed. Various U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)...more
For a company rushing to bring a breakthrough product to a red-hot marketplace, the goal may be a speedy patent prosecution at the United States patent office – but for a “stealth mode” company, the goal may be a slower and...more
Once a final rejection has been entered in an application, there is no right to unrestricted further prosecution. However, to advance the goal of compact prosecution, the USPTO introduced a program in 2012 that outlined when...more
Time to grant is vitally important when generating a robust patent portfolio. While speed is critical for many start-ups, it often comes with a price. Track One examination requires payment of fees. And even the patent...more
Two Pilot Programs for Compact Prosecution – First Action Interview and After Final Consideration Pilot Programs - Streamlining and accelerating patent prosecution are goals of both the USPTO and stakeholders. The USPTO has...more
With the “improper Markush grouping” rejection, U.S. patent examiners may reject claims reciting various alternative polynucleotide or polypeptide sequences. However, there is no per se rule that groupings of alternative...more