Last month, Director Kathi Vidal posted on her blog about global efforts to address climate change through sustainable innovation and about USPTO resources to support the military community....more
On July 7, the Senate passed a resolution “[r]ecognizing the importance of trademarks in the economy and the role of trademarks in protecting consumer safety, by designating the month of July as ‘National Anti-Counterfeiting...more
8/6/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Product Companies ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Office ,
Counterfeiting ,
Executive Orders ,
Guidance Update ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The explosion of artificial intelligence has raised some challenging questions in patent law, particularly with prior art, or the body of knowledge available prior to the filing of patent application.
Two of the most...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
Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees, 89 FR 44634 (May 21, 2024) (“seeking nominations for up to three members of its Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) to advise the Director of the USPTO on patent policy,...more
On May 10, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes a rule regarding new requirements for terminal disclaimers filed to obviate nonstatutory...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
On February 13, the USPTO issued inventorship guidance for AI-assisted innovations. The guidance, effective as of February 13, 2024, emphasizes that AI-assisted inventions are not categorically unpatentable and the...more
3/5/2024
/ America Invents Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Guidance Update ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Inventions ,
Inventors ,
Motion to Amend ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Proposed Rules ,
USPTO
A recent article, “Discovering Value: Women’s Participation in University and Commercial Artificial Intelligence (AI) Invention,” reports on a new study finding that women’s participation in patenting results in patents with...more
On January 4, the USPTO announced the appointment of new leaders for the agency’s policy and communications teams. Sharon Israel will serve as the Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs, and Jack...more
1/9/2024
/ Administrative Review ,
Advisory Committee ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Examiners ,
Ford Motor ,
General Motors ,
Honda ,
Nissan ,
NIST ,
Nokia ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Request For Information ,
USPTO ,
World Health Organization
Patent Center Replaces EFS-Web and Private PAIR -
On November 15, following a one-week delay, the legacy EFS-Web and Private Patent Application Information Retrieval (Private PAIR) systems were officially retired and...more
USPTO News -
On October 23, 2023, the USPTO Office of the Chief Economist released a report detailing patenting activity related to COVID-19 diagnostic technology....more
11/6/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Consultation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diagnostic Tests ,
Executive Orders ,
Information Reports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Tribal Governments ,
WIPO
Patent Center is slated to fully replace the legacy EFS-Web system and Private Patent Application Information Retrieval (Private PAIR) tool on November 8, 2023. The USPTO continues to host virtual training events to help...more
On August 31, 2023, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board published its updated Oral Hearing Guide. Changes reflected in the update include the addition of an all-virtual hearing option for AIA trials, updated information on how...more
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 April 20, the USPTO announced an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public input regarding potential PTAB reforms, including proposed changes to discretionary institution practices, petition word limits,...more
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