(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
It’s been 10 years since Alice was decided. Kilpatrick’s Steve Borgman and Andrew Saul recently presented at the 29th Annual Advanced Patent Law Institute in Austin, Texas, on recent cases and trends in the courts and the...more
On July 16, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) announced new guidance for examination of patent applications directed to critical and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI)....more
In accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in October 2023, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued new subject matter eligibility guidance relating to AI...more
Through the vicissitudes of the continuing chaos of subject matter eligibility, Senators Coons and Tillis have been steadfast in attempting to provide a legislative solution. They chaired a series of Congressional hearings in...more
There is ample evidence that patent examiner allowance rates vary dramatically from examiner to examiner and art unit to art unit.[1] This has resulted in the general understanding that there are "easy" examiners and "tough"...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) established its Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in September 2012. As mandated by the America Invents Act, the PTAB conducts administrative trials, such as inter partes...more
On Monday this week, the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that the PTO would be revisiting the test for patent subject matter eligibility. The announcement was made on the blog homepage of PTO...more
Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (at right) released a blog post on the USPTO's Director's Blog on Monday addressing the fraught subject...more
On May 8, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) announced its new COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program (“Pilot Program”) to provide prioritized examination of certain patent applications. To...more
Software-related patent applications have been in a legal flux for a number of years, with a lack of clarity and predictability over what exactly qualifies as patent eligible subject matter. Many technology enterprises have...more
This article is the fourth in a five-part series. Each of these articles relates to the state of machine-learning patentability in the United States during 2019. Each of these articles describe one case in which the PTAB...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office released Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (PEG) in January 2019, then released an update (PEG Update) in October 2019 to clarify certain issues in the PEG. The PEG and...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
Earlier this year, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or “the Office”) published the 2019 Revised Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (2019 PEG), which set forth newly revised procedures to be used by USPTO...more
We wrote about the Federal Circuit’s American Axle decision last week, highlighting Judge Kimberly Moore’s fierce dissent. Judge Moore was not the only person with a strong reaction. A day after the decision, Rep. Doug...more
Earlier this month, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) designated as informative four of its decisions applying the newest patent eligibility framework. This new eligibility framework, based on the United States Patent...more
In July 2019 the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) newly designated four decisions as informative to highlight the PTAB’s general consensus on issues considered in these cases. All four cases involve the PTAB applying...more
Patent practitioners, inventors, in-house counsel, and patent examiners alike have been clamoring for more guidance on computer-implemented functional claim limitations invoking § 112(f) since the Federal Circuit’s en banc...more
On May 22, 2019, a bipartisan committee of the U.S. Senate and House released a draft bill on § 101 reform, in a further attempt to reduce procedural obstacles for patent applicants. The draft bill would change the...more
Q: In light of the Federal Circuit’s ruling in Ancora v. HTC, do you have any tips for patent draftspersons? Steven G. Saunders: The Ancora decision is the latest ruling in a string of post-Alice cases suggesting that...more
In January of 2019, the Patent Office, under Director Iancu, issued new guidance to all USPTO personnel evaluating patent subject matter eligibility under the requirements of 35 USC Section 101. The guidance sought to add...more
Patent stakeholders have recognized the difficulties in consistently predicting what subject matter is patent-eligible, given the inconsistent and varying manner in which the Alice/Mayo test has been applied over the years....more
On January 7, 2019, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued new guidance on Patent Eligibility, seeking to improve the overall clarity, consistency, and predictability of patent eligibility analysis performed by...more
In view of recent US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decisions, the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued two new guidelines: revised 2019 Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, and Examining...more
Recent USPTO Guidance Offers Insight for Software Patent Eligibility - By now most of you have probably heard that "software patents" and "software patent applications" have had a rough time for the past 4 ½ years. Some of...more