U.S.P.T.O. Remains Open By Kirk M. Hartung Despite the shutdown of a significant portion of the federal government, the United States Patent and Trademark Office will remain open, at least for the short term.This government agency is self-funded through user fees, and therefore will continue business as usual for the next two weeks. If the government shutdown continues into February, the PTO […] Continue Reading →
USPTO Releases Patent Fee Schedule for 2018 This past week, the USPTO released its final patent fee schedule for 2018. The USPTO has been actively seeking to reduce the overall patent pendency, number of unexamined applications, and reduce its appeal backlog. Part of these efforts have been the continual recruiting and training of new examiners and new Administrative Law Judges at the […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit Emphasizes “Why” is Important Part of Obviousness Rationales in Chemical Patent Cases In a recent decision by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, In re Stepan Company, the Federal Circuit reversed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision to affirm an examiner’s rejection that claims were obvious. The claims in the application were directed to ultra-high load, aqueous glyphosate salt-containing concentrates comprising water, a glyphosate salt in […] Continue Reading →
Surge in Patent Applications Related to 3D Printing: Is Yours One of Them? The USPTO recently released statistics that over 8,000 patent applications were filed in 2016 related to 3D printing (additive manufacturing). Some of the interesting 3D printing inventions that have been subject to publicity include,prosthetic hands and fingers for children without fingers, three-dimensional bioprinting of human-compatible vascularized tissue developed by graduate students at Harvard, and a […] Continue Reading →
STRONGER PATENTS ACT On June 21, 2017, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced the STRONGER Patents Act of 2017 with the goal of strengthening the U.S. patent system by making it easier and cheaper for patent holders to enforce their patents. STRONGER (Support Technology and Research for Our […] Continue Reading →
Attorneys’ Fees included under “All the Expenses” On June 23, 2017, the Federal Circuit released a decision allowing the USPTO to recover attorneys’ fees under 35 U.S.C. § 145. According to § 145: “[a]n applicant dissatisfied with the decision of the [PTAB] . . . may, unless appeal has been taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the […] Continue Reading →
USPTO Heightens Post-Registration Requirements for Trademarks The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has recently made changes to the post-registration requirements for U.S. trademark registrations. Effective March 21, 2017, the USPTO will implement a post-registration audit program intended to obtain additional evidence and ensure accuracy of claims that a trademark is in use in commerce in connection with the goods/services listed […] Continue Reading →
USPTO Released Its 2016 Performance and Accountability Report The USPTO published its annual Performance and Accountability Report for the 2016 fiscal year. The Report tracks “agency’s progress toward meeting goals outlined in our 2014-2018 Strategic Plan: optimizing patent quality and timeliness; optimizing trademark quality and timeliness; and providing domestic and global leadership to improve intellectual property policy, protection, and enforcement worldwide.‚¬ Thus, the […] Continue Reading →
USPTO Data Visualization Center Have you ever wondered how long the typical time before a first Office Action in a pending patent or trademark application is? Or am I the only one waiting for some months after filing an RCE to have my patent application reexamined? Or what is the average length of time a patent application or trademark […] Continue Reading →
USPTO Offers New Pilot Program for After Final Responses The USPTO has implemented the “Post-Prosecution Pilot”referred to as the “P3 Program.”The goal of the program is to reduce the need for appeals by providing a more robust after final, pre-appeal program. The P3 Program essentially blends two existing programs: the After Final Consideration Pilot and the Pre-Appeal Brief Conference Pilot. The After Final Consideration […] Continue Reading →