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
From the moment a new invention or technology is realized, the race to patent the invention has begun. Anyone can apply for a patent to protect their inventions, discoveries and technologies at the U.S. Patent and Trademark...more
USPTO Leadership - On April 13, Kathi Vidal was sworn in as the new Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Director Vidal offered...more
The Russian government has issued a decree to deny compensation to patentees from “unfriendly states” when their patents are used for Russia’s national security purposes. Additionally, the US Patent and Trademark Office has...more
US and EU Sanctions - IP Engagement Suspended with Russia, Belarus, and Eurasian IP Offices - Four days after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the United States Treasury Department issued Directive 4 under...more
USPTO Launches New Patent Search Tool - In a press release issued earlier this year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced the launch of a new Patent Public Search tool. The Office notes that the new patent...more
The Russian war on Ukraine has resulted in a series of US sanctions and Russian countermeasures that have disrupted the coordination of patent and trademark rights between the United States and Russia. ...more
On March 22, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it was breaking its final ties with Russia’s intellectual property agencies. Specifically, the USPTO has terminated engagement with officials...more
While the humanitarian crisis has received the most attention during the emerging situation in Ukraine, numerous other facets of the world economy, international relations, and daily life have also been affected. One...more
Last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it was terminating engagement with officials from the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) and Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO), per...more
USPTO Leadership - ..Drew Hirshfeld is still performing the functions and duties of Director. President Biden nominated Kathi Vidal to be the next Director. On Jan. 13, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 17-5 to forward...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently launched an online First Office Action Estimator, which provides an estimate when a patent application will receive a first Office action. Having an idea of when a patent...more
On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility Response Pilot Program (the “DSMER Program”). We provide a brief overview of this program....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
It is not uncommon for applicants to file related patent applications in the United States and in Japan. When the applications claim priority to a common patent application, or one of the applications claims priority to the...more
Major patent offices around the world have long been aware of backlog and redundancy issues facing the global patent landscape. As previously reviewed, the Patent Prosecution (PPH) program aims to accelerate examination...more
The October 2020 issue of Sterne Kessler's Global Patent Prosecution newsletter discusses the factors you need to consider when filing strategies to protect your innovations in Asia and reviews the benefits for using the...more
In general, the maximum term of protection for an invention in the U.S. under a utility patent is 20 years less than the period of patent pendency. This term begins to run on the day the patent issues and ends 20 years after...more
At last count, there are 27 Global and IP5 Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) participants with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Since the PPH provides a no fee way to speed up the examination process for...more
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program accelerates examination among participating patent offices. The PPH program first began as a trial program between the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Japan Patent...more
USPTO and EAPO Establish PPH Pilot Program - In a notice issued in the Official Gazette (1446 OG 52) last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it was implementing a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)...more
Innovation and Traditional Patent Process - When you develop an innovation, its potential patentability is typically unknown, thus making it difficult to determine whether it is worth the significant expense involved if...more
Challenging the validity of a patent through the courts of Europe and the United States can be a time-consuming and expensive process. Oppositions at the European Patent Office (EPO) and US post-grant cancellation...more
Revocation Proceedings Around the World - Mechanisms to challenge the validity of granted patents are available in many countries throughout the world. The June 2017 issue of Sterne Kessler’s Global Patent Prosecution...more
The March 2017 inaugural issue of Sterne Kessler's Global Patent Prosecution Newsletter includes information and practical tips for accelerated examination strategies in the United States, Europe, and Asia. ...more