DELIVERING Results
May 4, 2015
The USPTO issued a press release today announcing the May 13, 2015 effective date for the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement. For full details, please see the USPTO press release below: The Geneva Act of…
Join us at 137th INTA Annual MeetingMay 2, 2015
We invite you to join us in attending the 137th INTA Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA this year. It would be our pleasure to meet with you during this event to learn how we…
Transition Applications During The Stages of ProsecutionApril 27, 2015
U.S. patent applications that have an effective U.S. filing date on or after March 16, 2013, but a priority date before March 16, 2013 are referred to as “transition” applications. If the application is a…
Bill Introduced in U.S. Congress Directed to One Year Patent Grace PeriodApril 17, 2015
On April 14, 2015, Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and David Vitter (R-LA) and Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) introduced the Grace Period Restoration Act of 2015. The purpose of this bill…
Three-Part Roll-Out Plan for PTAB ProceedingsApril 8, 2015
On March 27, 2015, USPTO Director Michelle Lee announced revisions to the rules of proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) under a “three-part roll-out plan.” First, a “quick fix” rule package will be…
What happens AFTER the 1.55(j) time frame has passed?March 30, 2015
One complication of the America Invents Act is the selection of law (AIA or Pre-AIA) for applications whose priority date and U.S. filing date straddle the critical date of March 16, 2013. For these so…
The High Standard for InherencyMarch 13, 2015
Inherency is fundamentally based upon logic. If two things are the same, then theymust necessarily have the same properties. See Ansonia Brass & Copper Co. v. Elec. SupplyCo., 144 U.S. 11 (1892) (“. . . the...
Federal Circuit Decision on Gilead Sciences, Inc. v. LeeMarch 3, 2015
On February 26, 2015, in Gilead Sciences, Inc. v. Lee, the Federal Circuit upheld the USPTO’s interpretation of the Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) statute as permitting the USPTO to charge “Applicant Delay” when an Information…
Update to IEEE-SA Standards Board BylawsFebruary 10, 2015
The Board of Directors of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) voted on February 8, 2015 to revise its bylaws regarding its patent policy for patents including at least one claim that is necessary...
Final Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) Rules In view of Novartis AG v. LeeJanuary 30, 2015
On January 9, 2015, the USPTO published final Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) rules to address the treatment of Requests for Continued Examination (RCEs) in light of the Federal Circuit’s decision in Novartis AG v. Lee, 740...