Patent Baristas

The Japan Patent Office has just announced a new policy to help stimulate the economy.  It relates to the fees for filing a request for examination.  Apparently, the Japan Patent Office is not the only patent office to experience a large drop in the number of patent applications being filed.  The JPO’s annual report shows […]

There have been mutterings and papers for some time about the EPO restricting the filing of divisional applications. They were viewed by some at the EPO as a thorn in the side of 3rd party rights. It is now official – the EPO Administrative Council met 26 March 2009 and considered the filing of divisional […]

In a game of one-upmanship,  Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) introduced — and apparently with a straight face — Senate bill (S. 610) as an alternative to the earlier introduced bills, S. 515 and H.R. 1260.  While differing in the standard for showing  inequitable conduct, the bill still retains the dreaded applicant quality submissions (AQS) that […]

Apparently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit could not bear to see an end to the drama between the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and its customers over proposed patent application rules.  The CAFC set out a mixed opinion on the rules proposed by the USPTO saying that they are procedural but […]

The full text of the Pathway for Biosimilars Act (H.R. 1548) introduced in the House has now been released.  The Act is set to amend the Public Health Service Act in order to establish a pathway for the licensure of biosimilar biological products, and for other purposes. The Act provides for the following: EXCLUSIVITY FOR […]

Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Jay Inslee (D-WA), and Joe Barton (R- TX) have introduced the Pathway for Biosimilars Act (H.R. 1548).  The key provision of the Eshoo-Inslee-Barton bill is the 14-year data protection period.  It would offer all new biological drugs a base period of 12 years of data protection with the right to obtain […]

Consumer Reports is using giant jogging pills on treadmills in order to announce its launch of a public campaign in support of comparative effectiveness research to urge policy makers to get behind the effort to provide doctors and patients with independent comparisons of different treatments for medical conditions.The interactive display is set up in Washington’s […]

The Small Business Innovation Research program, and the related Small Business Technology Transfer program, were created to help small companies work with government agencies and large contractors to bring new technologies to market. The program is set to currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR) with re-authorization due for re-upping on March 20.  Now, the […]