Latest Publications

Share:

RIP for POP: PTO Updates Interim Director Review Procedures

On July 24, 2023, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced that a revised interim Director Review (DR) process and Appeals Review Panel (ARP) process will replace the Precedential Opinion Panel Process. Updates to the...more

PTO Seeks Comments on Strategies to Address Counterfeiting and Piracy

On May 25, 2023, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) requested comments on strategies to address counterfeiting and piracy. The PTO requested information on current anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy strategies that have...more

PTO Proposes Trademark Fee Increases

On May 8, 2023, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced proposed trademark fee increases. The proposed fee increases are the result of lower revenue than previously forecasted and higher-than-expected inflation....more

PTO Proposes Patent Fee Increases

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced proposed patent fee increases. Patent fees would increase by about 5% across the board because of inflation. Certain fees would be increased by substantially more than the...more

PTO Requests Comments on Revisions to AIA Trial Proceedings

On April 21, 2023, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced that it is seeking public input on proposed modifications to the rules of practice for inter partes reviews (IPRs) and post grant reviews (PGRs) before the...more

PTO Reduces Small and Micro-Entity Fees

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) issued a final rule reducing certain patent fees for small and micro-entities on March 22, 2023. The Federal Register notice can be found here. Small entity filing fee discounts are...more

PTO Adds Green Energy Category to Patents for Humanity Program

On March 6, 2023, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) introduced a new green energy category to its Patents for Humanity Program. This new award category provides business incentives for patent applicants, holders and...more

PTO Introduces Trademark Decisions and Proceedings Search Tool

On February 17, 2023, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced the launch of the new Trademark Decisions and Proceedings Search Tool. This tool allows users to filter and search expungement and reexamination...more

PTO to Begin Issuing Electronic Patent Grants

On February 28, 2023, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) issued a final rule announcing it would begin issuing electronic patent grants (eGrants) starting April 18, 2023. These eGrants are the official copies of patent...more

PTO Eliminates CLE Certification and Recognition for Patent Practitioners

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced a final rule amending 37 C.F.R. § 11.11(a)(1) and (a)(3) to eliminate provisions concerning voluntary continuing legal education (CLE) certification for registered patent...more

PTO Introduces Intellectual Property Identifier Tool

On January 18, 2023, the US Patent & Trademark Office announced the launch of its new Intellectual Property (IP) Identifier tool. This tool is designed for those who are less familiar with IP and assists users in determining...more

PTO Update: COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Extended, Non-DOCX Filing Fee Deferred and More

On December 22, 2022, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced the fifth extension of the Modified COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program. The pilot program had been set to terminate on December 31, 2022, and...more

PTO Announces Cancer Moonshot Expedited Examination Pilot Program

On December 8, 2022, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced the launch of the Cancer Moonshot Expedited Examination Pilot Program (Cancer Moonshot Pilot). This program begins on February 1, 2023, and replaces the...more

PTO and Copyright Office Seek Public Comments on Non-Fungible Tokens

On November 23, 2022, the US Patent & Trademark Office and the US Copyright Office announced that they are seeking public input on intellectual property (IP) considerations related to non-fungible tokens (NFTs)...more

PTO Requests Comments on Initiatives to Expand Board Opportunities, Registration to Practice Criteria

In a pair of notices, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced on October 18, 2022, that it is seeking public input on proposed initiatives directed at expanding opportunities to appear before the Patent Trial &...more

PTO Requests Comments on Initiatives to Ensure Patent Robustness, Reliability

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) is seeking public input and guidance on proposed initiatives directed at bolstering the robustness and reliability of patents. The request for comments was spurred in part by US...more

PTO Switches to New Public Search Tools, New PTAB Filing System

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) will replace four legacy tools—Public-Examiner’s Automated Search Tool, Public-Web-Based Examiner’s Search Tool, Patent Full-Text and Image Database (PatFT) and Patent Application...more

PTO Extends Public Comment Period on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) seeks public feedback on its existing patent subject matter eligibility (SME) guidance. The guidance was put in place in 2019. As noted in the PTO’s July 25, 2022, blog post, the 2019...more

PTO Presentation Seeks to Clarify Subject Matter Eligibility Requirements

On August 9, 2022, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) gave a public presentation, “Subject Matter Eligibility Under 35 U.S.C. § 101: USPTO Guidance and Policy.” During the presentation, the PTO indicated that its goal is...more

PTO Issues Notice on Duties of Disclosure and Reasonable Inquiry

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) issued a notice on July 29, 2022, titled “Duties of Disclosure and Reasonable Inquiry During Examination, Reexamination, and Reissue, and for Proceedings Before the Patent Trial and...more

PTO Proposes Standardization of the Patent Term Adjustment Statement Regarding Information Disclosure Statements

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced on July 12, 2022, that it intends to revise the rules pertaining to patent term adjustment to require that the patent term adjustment statement regarding information disclosure...more

PTO Issues Report to Congress on Patent Eligible Subject Matter

On June 24, 2022, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) issued a report to Congress titled “Patent Eligible Subject Matter: Public Views on the Current Jurisprudence in the United States.” The report comes in response to a...more

PTO Re-Opens to Public

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) re-opened to the public on May 25, 2022. Both the headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, and the regional offices in Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan and San Jose,...more

PTO Updates DOCX Filings, Delays Surcharge Fee

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) recently announced that the surcharge fee for patent applications that are not filed in DOCX format will not go into effect until January 1, 2023. During the period before non-DOCX...more

PTO Launches New Patent Public Search Tool and Webpage

On February 1, 2022, the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) announced a new Patent Public Search tool similar to the search tools used by patent examiners to provide more convenient and robust full-text searching of all US...more

60 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 3

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide