Patent eligibility continues to be a hot topic in intellectual property law, and in our April issue of the Global Patent Prosecution newsletter, we look at three of the major forums impacting this area of IP. In our first...more
USPTO’s New Guidance on Subject Matter Eligibility -
Few areas of patent law are as unsettled as subject matter eligibility. To improve clarity, consistency, and predictability, the USPTO recently published new guidance on...more
Technology Spotlight - Patenting Blockchain Technology -
Blockchain is a booming technology, causing a dramatic increase in patent filings at the U.S Patent and Trademark Office. The November 2018 issue of Sterne Kessler’s...more
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become one of the most important technologies of the 21st century. AI generally refers to a branch of computer science that simulates “intelligent” behavior in computers and has the potential...more
As evidenced recently in the United States, it may be difficult to tell what categories of inventions are eligible for patent protection in foreign jurisdictions. To further complicate issues, standards of eligible subject...more
10/16/2018
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Animal Patents ,
Australia ,
Brazil ,
Canada ,
China ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
Diagnostic Method ,
EU ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ,
India ,
Japan ,
Mexico ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Plant Patents ,
Popular ,
Product of Nature Doctrine ,
Russia ,
Sharia Law ,
Software Patents ,
South Korea ,
Treatment Method Patents
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Mayo and Alice decisions, uncertainty has surrounded what inventions are patent eligible in the United States. In Mayo and Alice, the Supreme Court developed a two-step test to determine...more
10/12/2018
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Animal Patents ,
Clones ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
Diagnostic Method ,
DNA ,
Mayo v. Prometheus ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Plant Patents ,
Product of Nature Doctrine ,
Section 101 ,
Software Patents ,
Treatment Method Patents ,
USPTO ,
Utility Patents
A Survey on Subject Matter Eligibility
Few areas of patent law are as unsettled as subject matter eligibility. What is considered patentable varies greatly across jurisdictions and nuances in claim language can make...more
Both the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) accept a third party observation regarding validity of a patent application. In February 2012, it was announced that third party observations could be...more
9/17/2018
/ Administrative Procedure ,
China ,
EU ,
European Patent Office ,
Foreign Patent Applications ,
Japan ,
Japan Patent Office ,
JPO ,
Patent Cooperation Treaty ,
Patent Examinations ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
SIPO ,
Third-Party
China is in the midst of a tremendous patent boom. Worldwide, total patent application filings were up 7.8% in 2015, with China accounting for 84% of the total growth[1]. In 2015, the State Intellectual Property Office of the...more
5/17/2017
/ Animal Patents ,
China ,
Diagnostic Method ,
Filing Requirements ,
Life Sciences ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Cooperation Treaty ,
Patent Fees ,
Patent Prosecution ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Request for Examination ,
SIPO ,
Stem cells
On March 4, 2014, the USPTO issued a Guidance memorandum for examination of subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 in view of AMP v. Myriad (2013) and Mayo v. Prometheus (2012). Under the new guidelines, the...more