DELIVERING Results
June 8, 2015
Alps South, LLC v. The Ohio Willow Wood Co. 13-1452-- On Friday in an opinion by Judge CHEN, the Federal Circuit overturned a district court’s denial of a motion to dismiss for lack of standing.…
USPTO erred in not considering “Pretzel Crisps” mark as a wholeMay 18, 2015
Below is a decision issued by the Federal Circuit regarding the USPTO’s failure to consider the mark PRETZEL CRISPS as a whole. While this decision, of course, does not necessarily mean that the mark is…
Dependent Claim Impermissibly Broadened Independent Claim in Reissued PatentMay 18, 2015
On May 12, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a decision in ArcelorMittal v. AK Steel (Fed. Cir. 2015), finding that its previous claim construction of an independent…
Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial DesignsMay 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…
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...
Interim Guidance on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility – Abstract IdeasJanuary 27, 2015
Further to the Interim Guidance on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility issued in December 2014, the USPTO has released examples of claim language relating to abstract ideas. These examples provide guidance for drafting claims directed to computer…
USPTO Issues Interim Guidance on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101December 18, 2014
On December 16, 2014, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued the “2014 Interim Guidance on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility” (“the Interim Eligibility Guidance”) for determining patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101, a
Congratulations to Mark D. Pratt On Becoming a Wenderoth PartnerJanuary 2, 2014
We are pleased to announce that Mark D. Pratt became a partner of Wenderoth on January 1, 2014. Mark is a registered patent attorney and specializes in preparing and prosecuting patent applications related to electronics, software,…