Effective date of new BPAI appeal rules delayed pending completion of OMB review Gene Quinn at the PLI Patent Law Blog reports that the new BPAI appeal brief rules, which were scheduled to go into effect for all appeal briefs filed on or after tomorrow, December 10, will be delayed. The Office of Management and Budget is still considering the various submissions and comments regarding the rules, including […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit holds oral arguments in claim and continuation limit rules case On Friday, the Federal Circuit heard oral argument in the consolidated cases challenging the USPTO's new claim and continuation limit rules. You can download the audio of the arguments here. While it is, of course, too early to tell whether the Federal Circuit will affirm the permanent injunction against implementation of the rules, the tenor […] Continue Reading →
USPTO to implement annual maintenance fee for patent practitioners In today's Federal Register, the USPTO has indicated its implementation of a final rule to begin collecting annual "maintenance fees" from practitioners registered to practice before the USPTO. The notice states the fees "will recover the estimated average cost to the Office for the roster maintenance process, including the costs of operating the disciplinary system." […] Continue Reading →
Roundup of recent USPTO federal register notices: patent agent practice, fees, new rules and more It's been a busy few weeks in rulemaking at the USPTO, with several notices recently posted that deserve attention. The notices relate to increases in fees for Fiscal Year 2009 because of the consumer price index, increases for PCT fees (and a correction), the scope of permissible practice of patent agents and changes to disciplinary […] Continue Reading →
USPTO publishes two new proposed rules packages for trademark cases Today's Federal Register brings with it two sets of proposed rule changes from the USPTO, both dealing with prosecution of trademark cases. The first, entitled "Changes in Requirements for Signature of Documents, Recognition of Representatives, and Establishing and Changing the Correspondence Address in Trademark Cases," addresses the requirements for powers of attorney and similar documents […] Continue Reading →
USPTO publishes new rules for ex parte appeals before the BPAI In today's Federal Register, the USPTO has posted revised rules of practice for ex parte appeals before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. These are the final version of the rules initially proposed nearly a year ago. The rules were hinted at in a press release issued by the USPTO yesterday, and now we […] Continue Reading →
USPTO files notice of appeal in claim and continuation rules case As expected, this morning the USPTO filed a notice of appeal to the Federal Circuit in the lawsuit challenging its new claim and continuation rules. The USPTO will seek reversal of the district court's order finding the new rules exceeded the USPTO's rulemaking authority. We'll continue to monitor the case as it proceeds through briefing […] Continue Reading →
What’s new at the USPTO: Markush rules comments, new PPH, and pre-first action interview pilot There have been a few new things relevant to the USPTO in the past couple of weeks that we haven't had a chance to talk about. They include more comments regarding the proposed rules regarding Markush claims, a new Patent Prosecution Highway with the European Patent Office, and a pilot program where patent applicants would […] Continue Reading →
Patent Reform once again dead in the water? Negotiations on a compromise version of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S.1145) broke down late last week, and now it appears that the bill may not be considered before the full Senate before its next recess in May, if at all. The breakdown occurred over the controversial damages apportionment provision in the bill. One […] Continue Reading →
No April Fools joke: Continuation and claim limit rules held invalid; permanently enjoined In a ruling today regarding the parties' motions for summary judgment in the consolidated cases challenging the USPTO's new claim and continutation rules, Judge Cacheris ruled the rules were invalid, and permanently enjoined their enforcement. We'll have more once we've had a chance to review the opinion. Click below for the relevant documents. Order granting […] Continue Reading →