Reply briefs filed in claim and continuation rules case; administration opposes patent reform Late Friday, the parties filed their reply briefs in the cases challenging the USPTO's claim and continuation rules. As with the parties' opposition filings, these briefs largely represent another repetition of the arguments raised in the parties motions for summary judgment. The motions have now been fully briefed, and the hearing on the parties' motions […] Continue Reading →
Oppositions to motions for summary judgment filed in cases challenging claim and continuation rules Yesterday, the USPTO, Glaxo, and Dr. Tafas filed their oppositions to the motions for summary judgment in the consolidated cases challenging the USPTO's claim and continuation rules. At first glance, they make many of the same arguments raised in the parties' motions for summary judgment. Interestingly, however, the USPTO has also moved to strike portions […] Continue Reading →
USPTO to start enforcing requirement that inventor oaths include reference to duty of disclosure In a notice dated yesterday, the USPTO announced that it will begin enforcing compliance with 37 C.F.R. § 1.63(b)(3), which requires that inventor oaths include an acknowledgement of the duty to disclose information material to patentability under 37 C.F.R. § 1.56. Oaths filed on or after June 1, 2008 will have to have the language […] Continue Reading →
Timely article in Popular Science regarding the USPTO and its backlog The passage below is from an article in Popular Science, and is timely given the current workload of the USPTO and statements by Director Dudas that application pendency will continue to increase: The Patent Office Has Become A National Disgrace THE Patent Office, in Washington, D. C, recently sent to a workman in a chemical […] Continue Reading →
Amici piling up in lawsuit challenging new claim and continuation rules Although the parties' motions for summary judgment have been filed, the amici keep coming forward in the consolidated lawsuits challenging the new claim and continuation rules. This brings the total number of amici in this case over 30, filing 19 20 (as of 1/4) total briefs. While the vast majority of amici filings support the […] Continue Reading →
Motions for summary judgment filed in lawsuit challenging claim and continuation rules Yesterday the parties filed their motions for summary judgment in the cases brought by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Dr. Tafas challenging the USPTO's new claim and continuation limit rules. Apparently the earlier order setting the deadline for amicus briefs did not apply to the parties' motions, as earlier speculated. The deadline for briefs in opposition is […] Continue Reading →
Summary judgment deadline now December 27 in lawsuit challenging new rules; one more amicus joins in The deadline for summary judgment motions in the lawsuit challenging the new claim and continutation rules has apparenlty been extended from December 20 to December 27. While no modified scheduling order has yet appeared on PACER, in the court's order yesterday granting leave for the various amici who sought to file briefs at the summary […] Continue Reading →
Summary judgment motions due December 20 in lawsuit challenging new claim and continuation rules It's been awhile since our last update on the lawsuit challenging the USPTO's new claim and continuation limit rules. Here's a brief rundown of what's happened since the court granted Glaxo's motion for preliminary injunction, temporarily preventing implementation of the rules: Tafas noticed the depositions of Jon Dudas (USPTO director), John Doll (commissioner for patents), […] Continue Reading →
USPTO to be closed December 24 In a press release today, the USPTO announced it will be closed on December 24. December 25 is, of course, a federal holiday, meaning the USPTO will be closed for four consecutive days. From the release: Any action or fee due on those days (or the preceding Saturday (December 22, 2007) or Sunday (December 23, […] Continue Reading →
New IDS rules approved by Office of Management and Budget Yesterday the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved without change the USPTO's new rules regarding information disclosure statements. The rules had been challenged at the OMB in an effort to prevent their implementation, but that challenge was apparently unsuccessful. The text of the final rules is not yet available, but the abstract and previous […] Continue Reading →