News & Analysis as of

United States Patent and Trademark Office › Regulatory Reform

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves a fundamental role in the U.S. intellectual property system by issuing patents and registering trademarks.... more +
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves a fundamental role in the U.S. intellectual property system by issuing patents and registering trademarks.    less -
MoFo Life Sciences

Need to FAST Track Your Patent? The USPTO increases the Annual Limit to 20,000

MoFo Life Sciences on

Effective July 8, 2025, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) expanded the availability of prioritized examination, increasing the limit on the number of requests from 15,000 to 20,000 in a fiscal year. The 20,000...more

Baker Botts L.L.P.

Patent Obviousness in the AI Era

Baker Botts L.L.P. on

The proliferation of artificial intelligence (“AI”) presents complex challenges for intellectual property, especially within patent law. In particular, the obviousness inquiry under 35 U.S.C. § 103 may be susceptible to...more

Baker Donelson

Insights from Month One of Acting Director Stewart's Decisions on Discretionary Denial under the New Interim Processes for PTAB...

Baker Donelson on

Just three months ago, Acting Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Coke Morgan Stewart rescinded existing guidelines governing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's (PTAB) discretion to deny petitions for...more

Knobbe Martens

Results of The Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility Response Pilot Program

Knobbe Martens on

On June 18, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) hosted an informational call to share the results of a study on the Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility (DSMER) Pilot Program, three years after its...more

K&L Gates LLP

USPTO Discontinuing the Accelerated Examination Program for Utility Applications

K&L Gates LLP on

On 10 June 2025, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a Final Rule announcing the discontinuation of the Accelerated Examination program for utility applications beginning 10 July 2025. The change affects the...more

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

New Settled Expectations Policy at the PTAB Augurs Major Practice Changes

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP on

In a startling development, Acting Director of the USPTO Coke Morgan Stewart has denied institution of an inter partes review (IPR) on the basis of “settled expectations,” on the sole ground that the subject patent had been...more

Jones Day

PTAB Clarifies Interim Workload Management Process

Jones Day on

On April 17, 2025, following Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart’s memorandum announcing a new interim process to manage the workload of all PTAB judges, the USPTO held a Boardside Chat outlining the new bifurcated process...more

MoFo Life Sciences

USPTO Discontinues Accelerated Examination Program in Favor of Expanding Track One Program

MoFo Life Sciences on

On June 10, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that, after nearly 20 years, it will be discontinuing its Accelerated Examination Program for utility applications on July 10, 2025. The...more

DLA Piper

How Delayed Notice of Date Accorded Mailings May Affect Inter Partes Review

DLA Piper on

Inter partes review (IPR) practices have seen significant changes since US Patent and Trademark Office Acting Director Coke Stewart assumed her current role in January 2025. Perhaps the most significant change has been Acting...more

Quarles & Brady LLP

USPTO Expediting Design Patent Issuances and De-Expediting Design Examination

Quarles & Brady LLP on

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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The USPTO Is Issuing Patents Faster — Here’s Why That Matters

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Beginning May 13, 2025, the window between paying the issue fee and your patent officially issuing will become much shorter....more

McGuireWoods LLP

Role of USPTO’s Delegated Rehearing Panel Changing With New Administration

McGuireWoods LLP on

Coke Morgan Stewart, named on Inauguration Day 2025 as deputy director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and now serving as acting director of the USPTO, has already indicated that she will manage Director...more

McDermott Will & Emery

PTO Accelerates Patent Issuance Timeline

McDermott Will & Emery on

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced that it has shortened the time between the issue notification and the issue date for patents. Historically, the time between these two events averaged about three weeks....more

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP

USPTO Moves to Expedite Patent Issuance

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP on

The USPTO recently announced that they would expedite patent issuance by reducing the time between Issue Notification and Issue Date. Effective May 13, 2025, patents will now issue approximately two weeks after receiving the...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

USPTO Announces Changes to Patent Issue Timelines and Design Application Examinations

Womble Bond Dickinson on

This week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) made two announcements of interest to patent holders and practitioners as part of modernization and efficiency efforts...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

USPTO Announces Accelerated Patent Issuance Timeline

Lowenstein Sandler LLP on

Summary: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has accelerated the patent issuance timeline due to modernization efforts, which include publishing electronic patent grants (eGrants) via the USPTO’s Patent...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

USPTO to Expedite Patent Issuance

Fox Rothschild LLP on

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today that effective May 13, 2025, the time between an Issue Notification and issue date of a U.S. patent will be reduced to about one week. Currently, it takes three...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

USPTO Efforts at Modernity Speeds Patent Issuance

Ladas & Parry LLP on

On May 13, 2025, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will expedite Issue Dates for patents. This will reduce the average time from three weeks to about two, so patent holders can bring their investments to market...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

It’s Confirmed: Discretionary Denials Will Likely be on the Rise Following USPTO’s New Guidance Following Withdrawal of Fintiv...

Warner Norcross + Judd on

Following the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) decision to rescind the Fintiv Memo on Feb. 28, 2025, the result was that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) would have greater flexibility in exercising its...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

USPTO Procedure Adds New Hurdle to PTAB Trial Institution

Ballard Spahr LLP on

On March 26, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced changes to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) trial institution process, creating a new bifurcated approach to institution decisions....more

Hudnell Law Group

PTAB Recalibrates Review: New Discretionary Denial Framework and Pre-Institution Reform

Hudnell Law Group on

In less than a month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has dramatically reformed its policies and procedures for exercising its discretion to deny institution of AIA post-grant proceedings. First, on...more

Kilpatrick

Pre-Institution Overhaul: Unpacking the PTAB’s New Briefing Procedures

Kilpatrick on

Hot on the heels of rescinding former Director Vidal’s June 2022 memo providing guidance on discretionary denials, Acting Director of the USPTO, Coke Morgan Stewart, issued a memo yesterday outlining new “Interim Processes...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Pivot At The PTAB: The Acting Director Bifurcates Review

Morrison & Foerster LLP on

With two memoranda this week, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has made significant changes to trials at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”). Those trials—introduced in 2012 by the Leahy-Smith...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

USPTO Rescinds and Replaces Guidance on Discretionary Denials

Latham & Watkins LLP on

On February 28, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rescinded a memorandum issued in June 2022 by former Director Katherine Vidal (the Vidal Memorandum) that provided guidance on discretionary denials...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Delaying Examination of Continuing Applications Could Sabotage USPTO Goals

Foley & Lardner LLP on

Rumor has it that one of many behind-the-scenes changes being implemented at the USPTO relates to how (or when) continuing applications are taken up for examination. Typically, an examiner may give priority to a continuing...more

51 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 3
Next »

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
Sign up Log in
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide