Effective March 29, 2022, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) will accept a new combined petition option to participate in...more
It is not uncommon for applicants to file related patent applications in the United States and in Japan. When the applications claim priority to a common patent application, or one of the applications claims priority to the...more
Intellectual Property counsel often face the dilemma of when to file a patent application: as soon as possible, or wait and gather more support? Filing an application “early” helps to avoid anticipatory prior art but if the...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently announced that the Expanded Collaborative Search Pilot (CSP) program, which was enacted in November 2017, has been extended to October 31, 2022. The Expanded CSP...more
USPTO News - ..Administrative Patent Judges Michael Cygan and Kristi L. R. Sawert, and Patent Attorney Thomas Volper discussed the one-year ex parte appeal, Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program, and what happens after PTAB...more
Major patent offices around the world have long been aware of backlog and redundancy issues facing the global patent landscape. As previously reviewed, the Patent Prosecution (PPH) program aims to accelerate examination...more
The October 2020 issue of Sterne Kessler's Global Patent Prosecution newsletter discusses the factors you need to consider when filing strategies to protect your innovations in Asia and reviews the benefits for using the...more
Patent practitioners who focus their practice in the high-tech sector have most likely encountered Japanese patent law in one form or another. More often than not, companies at the forefront of technological advancement...more
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) launched a pilot program on July 1st termed Collaborative Search and Examination (CS&E) that will enable an applicant to have searching performed by all five of the major...more
Two new Collaboration Search Pilot Programs are or will soon be available to patent applicants. The Collaboration Search Pilot Program (CSP) between the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Japan Patent...more
Following the implementation of its first Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) in 2006, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office proceeded to establish PPH programs with nearly thirty other...more