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
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced changes to patent fees, which will take effect on Jan 19, 2025. Most current fees are subject to a 7.5% across-the-board increase while other fees are...more
The USPTO has announced fee increases and new fees for patents and trademarks to take place on January 18, 2025, for trademarks, and January 19, 2025, for patents. The increase in fees and the introduction of new fees by the...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced on Wednesday that patent-related fees will be raised starting January 19, 2025 to offset forecasted increases in operating cost....more
Attention, inventors, in-house counsel, and anyone with a vested interest in the world of intellectual property: the USPTO just issued its final rule for patent fees. This is a follow-up to the 2023 proposal—but with a...more
Gain a comprehensive understanding of Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA essentials, a critical competency for legal and business professionals in the biopharmaceutical arena. Attend ACI’s Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA Proficiency Series...more
Last week, the Federal Circuit held that obviousness-type double patenting trumps patent term adjustment, opening the door for invalidity attacks that to date had been questionable. In re Cellect was an appeal from a...more
The USPTO has commenced the fee-setting process for fee adjustments it expects to implement in January 2025. While many fee changes are modest (~5%), the USPTO proposes significant increases to design patent fees and PTAB...more
USPTO and JPO Issue Joint Message - Yesterday, Director Andrei Iancu of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Commissioner Akira Matsunaga of the Japan Patent Office issued a joint message to express the Offices' "most...more
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued two opinions on December 7 that address two unsettled questions relating to obviousness-type double patenting (OTDP). These issues are of particular interest to...more
The Federal Circuit recently issued a pair of decisions concerning the Gilead doctrine, which allowed later-issuing patents to be obviousness-type double patenting (ODP) references against earlier-issuing patents....more
The drug company Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., recently lost a bid to increase the term of its U.S. Patent No. 8,658,675 by five days, ultimately because its patent attorney failed to check a box on the application form. ...more