Patent Office officially announces pilot plan for submission of prior art by third parties The USPTO yesterday officially announced the institution of a pilot project concerning "public submission of peer reviewed prior art." As we previously blogged on March 5 and February 28, the pilot project will be voluntary, and limited initially to the "computer arts." It will be handled on the Peer-to-Patent website, developed by the Community Patent […] Continue Reading →
Senate hearings on the Patent Reform Act of 2007 As noted previously, the Senate yesterday held hearings on the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1145). The witnesses were: Jon W. Dudas, Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Bruce G. Bernstein, chief intellectual property and licensing officer, InterDigital Communications Corp. Mary Doyle, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, […] Continue Reading →
Senate to hold its first hearings on Patent Reform Act of 2007 While the House subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property (a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee) held hearings on the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1908, S. 1145) at the end of April, the Senate is just now getting into the act. On Wednesday, June 6 at 10:00 Eastern time, the full […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit: Board can’t use its own expertise as evidentiary substitute in interferences The Federal Circuit today held that during inter partes proceedings, the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (the Board) cannot, under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), rely on its own expertise when making factual findings if there is no evidence of record supporting its conclusion. The court did not opine whether this limitation extended to […] Continue Reading →
More continuation rules rumormongering: 2 continuations + 1 RCE? With the AIPLA 2007 spring meeting going on in Boston this week, there has been no shortage of rumors flying about the substance of the new continuation rules expected to be issued by the USPTO in July. According to multiple reports (all apparently originating with Hal Wegner), the substance of the rules is likely to […] Continue Reading →
USPTO issues memo detailing preliminary obviousness instructions in light of KSR As reported on Patently-O, the USPTO has issued a memo to the technology center directors regarding examination of applications in light of KSR. The good news is that the USPTO seems to have taken to heart the statement in the KSR opinion that "[t]o facilitate review, [the obviousness] analysis should be explicit." More details after […] Continue Reading →
New rules on continuations: coming to a CFR near you this July? If the latest rumors are true, the USPTO may be giving inventors and patent prosecutors the newest summer blockbuster. According to Hal Wegner, on April 10, 2007, the USPTO submitted two rules to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, one related to continuation practice and "patentably indistinct claims," and another related to […] Continue Reading →
Patent Examiner groups air their grievances In an open letter to the heads of the United States, European, Canadian, German, and Austrian patent offices, an international coalition of patent examiner groups seeks changes in the demands on patent examiners, stating that the increase in productivity demands and the number of applications to be examined, combined with the increased complexity of applications […] Continue Reading →
USPTO changes address for Madrid Protocol applications and related papers In a Federal Register notice today, the USPTO announced that it has changed its address for international trademark applications under the Madrid Protocol and related correspondence. The full list of affected papers includes: International applications under § 7.11, subsequent designations under § 7.21, responses to notices of irregularity under § 7.14, requests to record changes […] Continue Reading →
USPTO to partner with National Inventors Hall of Fame and Ad Council to promote innovation in youths Today the USPTO scheduled a press conference for Tuesday, April 10, to discuss details of a new public service advertising campaign to "engage a new generation of children to make innovation, invention and technological development an integral part of their lives." The USPTO will be partnering with the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, operators […] Continue Reading →