On November 12, USPTO Director Kathi Vidal announced in a post on LinkedIn and a letter to friends and colleagues that she would be stepping down the second week in December. Deputy Director Derrick Brent will take over until...more
12/3/2024
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Administrative Resignation ,
Congressional Committees ,
Directors ,
Fees ,
Filing Fees ,
Final Rules ,
NPRM ,
Patent Fees ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) ,
Trademarks ,
USPS ,
USPTO
On October 21, the USPTO announced the appointment of Nancy U. Kamei as Chief Public Engagement Officer and Director of the Office of Public Engagement (OPE)....more
On October 2, the USPTO terminated proceedings in approximately 3,100 patent applications due to the fraudulent entry of S-signatures of registered practitioners by others. The final order noted that improper use of a...more
USPTO Leadership -
..On June 3, the USPTO announced the appointment of Derris Banks as Regional Director of the USPTO’s Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional Office located in Detroit, Michigan....more
On April 30, the USPTO announced a Request for Comments (RFC) seeking public feedback on how AI could affect USPTO evaluations on patentability, including what qualifies as prior art and the assessment of the level of...more
5/7/2024
/ Administrative Review ,
America Invents Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Comment Period ,
Directors ,
Fees ,
Final Rules ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
NPRM ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Term Extensions ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Proposed Rules ,
Request for Continued Examination ,
USPTO
On March 8, the USPTO joined other intellectual property offices in celebrating International Women’s Day with a theme of “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.”...more
4/4/2024
/ America Invents Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Office ,
Diversity ,
E-Signatures ,
Filing Fees ,
Final Rules ,
Innovation ,
Judicial Review ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
WIPO
USPTO News -
On July 11, the USPTO Office of the Chief Economist released the 2022 updates to its Trademark Case Files Dataset and Trademark Assignment Dataset....more
8/8/2023
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Administrative Review Board ,
America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Comment Period ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Copyright ,
Final Rules ,
OMB ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
PTAB Precedential Opinion Panel (POP) ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
On June 7, the USPTO released its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. According to the USPTO, the new plan outlines the USPTO's mission-focused strategic goals, which are: (1) driving inclusive U.S. innovation and global...more
On May 23, the USPTO announced a request for comments seeking public input on whether to make permanent or modify the PTAB’s Motion to Amend (MTA) Pilot Program. The USPTO is also seeking related input on the rules of...more
6/7/2023
/ Anti-Piracy ,
Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Counterfeiting ,
Final Rules ,
Motion to Amend ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Piracy ,
Proposed Rules ,
Registration Requirement ,
USPTO ,
USPTO Pilot Program
On March 6, the USPTO announced a new Green Energy Category of its Patents for Humanity Program. Patents for Humanity is an awards competition that recognizes innovators who use technology to meet global humanitarian...more
4/4/2023
/ Congressional Committees ,
Expedited Actions Process ,
Filing Fees ,
Final Rules ,
Humanitarian Assistance ,
Incentive Awards ,
Innovation ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Interim Rule ,
Patent Examinations ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
PTAB Precedential Opinion Panel (POP) ,
USPTO
The USPTO published Revision 07.2022 of the Ninth Edition of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). A change summary is available here....more
3/7/2023
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Comment Period ,
Congressional Committees ,
Final Rules ,
Google ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Mylan Pharmaceuticals ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Roku ,
Samsung ,
USAA ,
USPTO ,
Xerox
USPTO News -
On January 18, the USPTO announced the launch of the IP Identifier tool, which is designed to enable users who are less familiar with intellectual property to identify whether they have adequate protections...more
USPTO Leadership -
..Vaishali Udupa will become the next Commissioner for Patents on January 17, 2023. She was previously at Hewlett Packard Enterprise....more
USPTO Leadership -
..This month, Director Kathi Vidal delivered official remarks at the Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium.
USPTO News -
..On November 16, the USPTO and the Department of Commerce launched the...more
USPTO News -
..On October 19, 2022 the USPTO issued a report titled “Where are U.S. women patentees? Assessing three decades of growth” examining trends in women’s patenting in the U.S. from 1990-2019.
..Director...more
11/2/2022
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Comment Period ,
Final Rules ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Examinations ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
PTAB Precedential Opinion Panel (POP) ,
Public Comment ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
USPTO ,
USPTO Pilot Program
USPTO Leadership -
..Drew Hirshfeld is still performing the functions and duties of Director. Kathi Vidal, the Biden Administration’s nominee to be the next Director, testified at the Senate Judiciary...more
12/10/2021
/ Final Rules ,
Patent Fees ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Rules ,
Request for Examination ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
USPTO News -
..On October 26, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Kathi Vidal, the managing partner of Winston and Strawn’s Silicon Valley office, as the next Under Secretary for Intellectual Property and Director of the...more
11/2/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Final Rules ,
International Trademark Protection ,
Notice and Comment ,
OMB ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Severe Weather ,
Trademark Registration ,
USPTO
USPTO Leadership -
..Drew Hirshfeld is still performing the functions and duties of Director. The Biden Administration has not made an announcement as to who will be nominated to become the next Director....more
8/18/2021
/ Administrative Patent Judges ,
Administrative Procedure ,
Final Rules ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
PTAB Precedential Opinion Panel (POP) ,
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
United States v Arthrex Inc ,
USPTO
USPTO Leadership -
..Drew Hirshfeld is still performing the functions and duties of Director. The Biden Administration has not made an announcement as to who will be nominated to become the next Director....more
USPTO Leadership -
..Drew Hirshfeld is still performing the functions and duties of Director. No announcement from the Biden Administration as to who will be nominated to become the next Director.
IP Toolkit -...more
USPTO News -
..David Berdan has been appointed USPTO’s General Counsel. As General Counsel, Mr. Berdan will serve as the principal legal advisor to the Director. He will also supervise the Office of General Counsel and...more
USPTO News -
..USPTO releases report on artificial intelligence and intellectual property policy.
..Mary Critharis has been appointed the USPTO’s Acting Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs. Ms....more
11/3/2020
/ Continuing Legal Education ,
Domain Name Registration ,
Final Rules ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Proposed Rules ,
Trademark Examination Guide ,
Trademarks ,
United States Patent and Trademark Office v Booking.com BV ,
USPTO ,
World Intellectual Property Organisation
The US Patent and Trademark Office has announced amendments to the Rules of Practice for Trials Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that will take effect on May 2, 2016. The amendments generally adopt the rules proposed...more
4/8/2016
/ Additional Discovery ,
Claim Construction ,
Duty of Candor ,
Expert Testimony ,
Final Rules ,
Motion to Amend ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Owner Preliminary Response ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Real Party in Interest ,
USPTO