(Podcast) The Briefing: A Very Patented Christmas – The Quirkiest Inventions for the Holiday Season
The Briefing: A Very Patented Christmas – The Quirkiest Inventions for the Holiday Season
5 Key Takeaways | Alice at 10: A Section 101 Update
Third Party Observation in Patent Prosecution in China
Ways to Amend the Claims in the Patent Invalidation Proceedings
Cases Updated in CNIPA Guidelines - Eligibility & Inventiveness for AI & Business Method Applications
Five Impactful USPTO Procedural Developments for Patent Practitioners
Podcast: Patentable Subject Matter in 2019
This article continues our analysis of over 89,000 patents to determine how the number of office actions to allowance during prosecution impacts litigation outcomes. Last month we discussed how prosecution length impacts...more
In its first en banc patent decision since 2018, the Federal Circuit overruled the longstanding obviousness test for design patents under 35 U.S.C. 103. LKQ Corp. v. GM Global Tech. Operations LLC, No. 21‑2348 slip op. (Fed....more
Takeaways: - Patent owner requested reexaminations are not an admission of claim unpatentability. - Patent owners can and should control the reexamination request narrative. Patent owners must consider the pros and...more
For the first time in nearly 15 years, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued “Updated Guidance for Making a Proper Determination of Obviousness” under the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in KSR Int’l Co. v....more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office handles hundreds of thousands of patent applications per year, as well as various types of administrative patent proceedings. While the USPTO has made incremental improvements in its...more
Updated First Office Action Estimator Tool Now Available - In a Patent Alert email distributed earlier today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that an updated First Office Action Estimator online tool is now...more
The US Patent and Trademark Office is implementing a pilot program to allow participating applicants to defer responding to subject matter eligibility rejections until the earlier of a final disposition of the application, or...more
It is no question that Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) technologies have popped up in all aspects of society such as online shopping, music streaming, and social networking. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has...more
For emerging companies, a patent application should combine legal skill with technical and business knowledge to produce a document that will serve as a foundation to the company’s valuation and future profitability....more
Time to grant is vitally important when generating a robust patent portfolio. While speed is critical for many start-ups, it often comes with a price. Track One examination requires payment of fees. And even the patent...more
Two Pilot Programs for Compact Prosecution – First Action Interview and After Final Consideration Pilot Programs - Streamlining and accelerating patent prosecution are goals of both the USPTO and stakeholders. The USPTO has...more
On August 18, 2020, the USPTO issued guidance regarding the reliance on Applicant Admitted prior art (AAPA). Under 35 U.S.C. § 311(b), IPRs may be instituted only “on the basis of prior art consisting of patents or printed...more
Recently, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provided an additional tool for patent applicants to use in pursuit of foreign patent protection. In 2015, the USPTO partnered with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, or...more
Your company just invested to get an application on Track One prioritized examination. Now what? The Track One prioritized program does not guarantee an applicant to get an allowance — only a final disposition that can be a...more
The Appointments Clause: Ensuring That PTAB Decisions Are Subject to Constitutional Checks and Balances In Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., Appeal No. 18-2251, the Federal Circuit ruled that, under the then-existing...more
On October 15, 2019, the PTAB designated as informative two decisions providing insight into when it is an appropriate for an examiner to reply upon a so-called “design choice” rationale in support of an obviousness...more
Sometimes appealing an Examiner’s rejection is the only practical option. If no claims of valuable scope have been allowed or indicated as allowable, and all clarifying claim amendments, supporting evidence and salient...more
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. vs. CH Cheiljedang Corp. (2018-1590, 2018-1629) - In a pair of cross-appeals from the International Trade Commission, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Commission’s ruling that one of CJ CheilJedang...more
I. Introduction. “Prosecution” of a patent application is the process by which an application moves through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) after being filed. Prosecution is often a more lengthy and...more
Low-cost patent applications may cost quality. It’s no secret that many more clients than in the past are demanding that their outside patent counsel prepare patent applications at a lower cost—often far lower—than their...more
The Federal Circuit decision in In re Durance is a rare precedential decision in an ex parte appeal from a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision rejecting a pending patent application. The Court took the USPTO to task...more
On March 21, 2018, the PTAB designated two decisions as “informative” that denied institution for presenting prior art that had been previously presented during prosecution. Becton, Dickinson & Co. v. B. Braun Melsungen AG,...more
Patent applicants often draft claims to cover various ranges of physical or chemical characteristics. Of primary concern during prosecution are prior art documents that disclose similar, but not overlapping, ranges. In In re...more
Arendi S.A.R.L. v. Google LLC, Appeal No. 2016-1249 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 20, 2018) - In Arendi S.A.R.L. v. Google LLC, the Federal Circuit upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) obviousness determination following...more
Berkheimer v. HP Inc., Appeal No. 2017-1437 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 8, 2018) - In Berkheimer v. HP Inc., the Federal Circuit reviewed the District Court’s summary judgment finding that certain claims of a patent were invalid as...more