Yesterday CBS News published a story about the patent backlog at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the impact on businesses and independent inventors. According to the article, USPTO Director David Kappos is aiming to cut the average wait time from thirty-six to twenty months in the next five years. To this ... [Read more]
Posts Tagged ‘patent examination’
USPTO Patent Examination Initiative Proposes Tiered Three-Track Patent Examination Process
Friday, June 4th, 2010
On June 3, 2010, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has announced a proposed initiative intended to help reduce the backlog of patent applications and reduce examination pendency at the USPTO. Under the proposed initiative, for a patent application first filed in the US, an applicant may request examination in any of the following ... [Read more]
USPTO Eliminates Classification Requirements for Green Technology Accelerated Patent Examination
Friday, June 4th, 2010
In December 2009, the USPTO announced a pilot program to accelerate the examination of certain “green” technology patent applications. On May 21, 2010, the USPTO announced it is eliminating the classification requirement to expanded eligibility for expedited processing. The USPTO announced that: “To date, more than 950 requests have been filed by applicants who wish ... [Read more]
Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Holds There are Separate Enablement and Written Description Requirements for Patents
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
Earlier today, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals published their en banc opinion in Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Eli Lilly and Co. Central to the court’s holding is that the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. § 112 includes distinct written description and enablement requirements. Here is the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. § 112: The ... [Read more]
Patent Reform 2010
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
Patent Reform is on its way. Maybe not this year, maybe not the next, but inevitably patent reform will happen. The patent reform legislation introduced in 2009 as S.515, has been amended and introduced in the Senate as Amendment to S. 515 (a.k.a. “Patent Reform Act of 2010″). Whether or not it finds its way ... [Read more]
United States Patent and Trademark Office is Hiring Patent Examiners
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is hiring patent examiners and is actively targeting registered patent attorneys and patent agents for the open positions. The positions are full-time and permanent. Follow this link to view the job posting. The current deadline for applications is March 2, 2010.... [Read more]
Design Patent Examination at the USPTO More Closely Resembles Registration Than Examination
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
According to a recent blog post at Patently-O, a leading patent law blog, based on the review of 1049 file histories of design patents that issued in the past 12 months, only 1.2% of design patent applications were rejected based on prior art during patent prosecution and over 80% were never rejected at all. In ... [Read more]
New USPTO Pilot Program to Accelerate the Examination of Green Technology Patent Applications
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has announced a new pilot program to accelerate the examination of certain “green” technology patent applications. The Patent Office’s release is provided here. Effective December 8, 2009, the first 3,000 pending patent applications related to specifically identified green technologies for which a petition is filed are eligible to ... [Read more]
New Patent FAQ Answers at Richards Patent Law
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
The FAQ section at Richards Patent Law continues to expand. Most recently I have been preparing in-depth answers to some of the very basic and immediate questions I’ve been fielding from my clients and other people interested in the patent process. For example: Can I patent my invention? What type of patent application should I ... [Read more]
USPTO Intends to Launch Pilot Program to Accelerate the Patent Process for Small Entity Inventors
Saturday, November 7th, 2009
At the 14th Annual Independent Inventors Conference on November 5-6, 2009, the United States Patent and Trademark Office announced it intends to launch a new pilot program whereby small entity inventors with multiple pending patent applications will be given the opportunity to receive special, accelerated status for one application in exchange for abandoning an application ... [Read more]
