January 2nd, 2014
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Innovation Act, “The Goodlatte” Bill, on December 5, 2013. The Senate is expected to pass the Innovation Act, or a similar bill. The Innovation Act focuses on patent litigation reform. But patent prosecution professionals should be aware of […] Read More
Read MoreApril 4th, 2012
Once a patent examiner makes a rejection of a patent application “final” the Applicant has very few options. Ordinarily, the Applicant can appeal, which is time consuming, or can file a request to reopen prosecution to present new or revised claims, which is costly. Now, […] Read More
Read MoreMarch 19th, 2012
Written by Michael T. Ghobrial, Michael Jordan, and Joseph R. Condo for the 28th Annual Joint Patent Practice Continuing Legal Education Seminar (www.jppcle.org), which will be held on April 17, 2012 in New York City. I. SUMMARY Under the majority’s rule in Marine Polymer I, arguments made before […] Read More
Read MoreFebruary 21st, 2012
A new fee schedule being proposed by the USPTO may create unexpected expenses for patent filers. The proposed new fees and fee increases are meant to help the USPTO cover its expenses (1). In some instances, the proposed fees may be unreasonable in relation to […] Read More
Read MoreJanuary 11th, 2012
With the passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) in September 2011, the USPTO was expressly authorized by Congress to continue the expansion of the Track 1 Prioritized Patent Examination Program. Originally announced in the February 2011, the Track 1 program was formerly a […] Read More
Read MoreDecember 13th, 2011
The word “only” is one of those magic words in patent specifications and claims. The word conveys such a strong absolute that it tends to drown out other arguments. And, given the law of unintended consequences, patent drafters should have a very good reason to […] Read More
Read MoreSeptember 20th, 2011
The Federal Circuit struck down a computer readable medium (CRM), or Beauregard, claim under § 101. In Cybersource Corp. v. Retail Decisions, Inc., the court held that the CRM limitation in the claim did not make an otherwise unpatentable method patent-eligible under § 101. In […] Read More
Read MoreSeptember 15th, 2011
There aren’t any no-brainers in patent law, but the USPTO’s ePetitions system comes close. In March, the USPTO began an automated filing and decision process for eight patent-related petitions through a new system called ePetitions. Not only does ePetitions allow practitioners to file the petitions […] Read More
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