The recent 2025 fee setting by the USPTO includes not only fee increases, but the introduction of new fees. One of these new fees is the so-called Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) size fees, which adds a range of fees...more
On 19 January 2025 the USPTO enacted a new Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) size fee. A new IDS size fee, codified under 37 C.F.R. 1.17(v), is accrued for any pending application when the number of cumulative references...more
New fees affecting trademarks and patents have taken effect at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The new fee structures will dramatically influence trademark and patent filings. Applicants need to rethink...more
As 2025 begins and intellectual property (IP) strategies are being developed for the new year, it is a good time to reflect on what IP issues were prominent in 2024. According to many readers, hot IP topics included...more
The USPTO has announced a significant update to its fee schedule for the 2025 fiscal year, set to take effect January 19, 2025. Across the board, fees will rise by at least 10%, with some increasing as much as 100%. The last...more
Along with other new and increased fees, including the surcharge for late-stage continuation applications, the United States Patent & Trademark Office published a final rule on November 20, 2024, that establishes new fees for...more
In the November 20, 2024 Federal Register Notice, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or the “Office”) released its final rule on patent fee adjustments (“Final Rule”). These fee adjustments, set to take...more
According to recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Office) data, the Office receives a burdensome number (13%) of information disclosure statements (IDSs) having in excess of 50 total items of information. 89 Fed. Reg....more
In the mid-2000s, the U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) determined that reexaminations would be more consistent and legally correct if performed by a centralized set of experienced and specially trained Examiners. As a result, the...more
Effective January 19, 2025, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will increase patent fees and even create some new ones. A Final Rule, issued Nov. 20, instituted a 7.5% across-the-board increase with new utility...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today the finalized fee increases taking effect on January 19, 2025. While applicants can still expect significant increases in certain areas, some proposed fee...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) proposed rulemaking that focuses on “fee adjustments” for 2025 includes a trap for the unwary related to Information Disclosure Statements (IDSs) that could complicate...more
On April 10, 2024, the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) announced guidance regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools before the USPTO. ...more
The USPTO has issued several recent Federal Register Notices this calendar year. The latest, entitled Guidance on Use of Artificial Intelligence-Based Tools in Practice Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, 89...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has proposed significant changes to patent fee structures for the 2025 fiscal year. These proposed changes mark a pivotal shift in the Office’s financial approach toward...more
The duty to disclose required by 37 CFR § 1.56 is a constant weight on patent practitioners and applicants to cite references via an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS). The indiscriminate or reflexive filing of an IDS...more
If the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is going to implement fee changes in January 2025, we should see a Federal Register Notice detailing the proposed fees soon. The USPTO started this round of fee-setting in April...more
Effective July 17, 2023, the USPTO will "require" Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) safe harbor statements to be made on a specific USPTO form and electronically filed under a specific...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has proposed a significant increase in patent fees, including the implementation of entirely new fees and revamped fee structures. The USPTO has indicated that the fee proposal is...more
After centuries of issuing paper patents to inventors, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will soon transition to only electronic issuance, with patent holders able to receive a printed “ceremonial” copy to display proudly...more
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
The USPTO Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) rules include a “safe harbor” that avoids a PTA deduction for “Applicant delay” for Information Disclosure Statements that are accompanied by a certain statement averring that the items...more
In some circumstances, patent applicants may petition the Patent Office to suspend non-statutory rules under 37 CFR § 1.183. As the text of the rule indicates, the Patent Office will only grant such petitions “[i]n an...more
In 1999, Congress created a system of patent term adjustment (PTA) that adds additional time to patent terms to remedy certain delays caused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) in issuing a patent....more
An essential part of U.S. patent prosecution is the duty of disclosure, which requires the disclosure of all known information that is material to patentability. 37 C.F.R. § 1.56....more