Federal Circuit to hear claim and continuation rule case en banc In an order this afternoon, the Federal Circuit agreed to hear en banc Tafas v. Doll, the case challenging the USPTO's claim and continuation rules. Back in March, a panel of the court held, in a 2-1 decision, the limits on continuation applications were invalid, but the remainder of the rules were not invalid, at […] Continue Reading →
Patent Reform Act of 2009 back before Senate Judiciary Committee today to consider compromise Today at 10:00 Eastern time the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business meeting to discuss the Patent Reform Act of 2009. The committee will consider some proposed amendments that represent a compromise on several key issues that have been points of contention over the course of the past several years when patent reform […] Continue Reading →
Patent reform back again for 2009 Yesterday Senators Patrick Leahy and Orrin Hatch (chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee) and Representatives John Conyers and Lamar Smith (chairman and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee) introduced the Patent Reform Act of 2009. Click below for more detail of the newly-introduced legislation, as well as links to other coverage […] 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 →
Patent litigation by the numbers PricewaterhouseCoopers recently published its annual litigation study entitled 2008 Patent Litigation Study: Damages awards, success rates and time-to-trial. The study examined a wide range of variables pertaining to patent litigation from 1995 to 2007. With the number of patents granted increasing every year, the number of patent cases has continued to grow. Also, with the […] 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 →