Patent Baristas

After having some new faces join our firm, I’ve been thinking about the inherent difficulties of balancing work with the rest of life.  While I’ll leave the question of whether lawyers can achieve a work-life balance — or if many even want balance — for another day, I do think it’s useful to take stock […]

On March 29, 2010, the University of Utah and Myriad Genetics Inc. lost a U.S. court ruling over some of its patents for detecting inherited breast cancer related to the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2.  The 152-page decision, which addresses questions about whether human genes should be subject to patent protection, could have major ramifications for […]

From Don Chisum & Janice Mueller: The Chisum Patent Academy will offer its second annual Intensive Patent Law Training Workshop at its offices in Seattle, Washington, on July 29-31, 2010. The workshop will focus on substantive patent law (patentability and enforcement) through analysis of critical Federal Circuit and Supreme Court decisions.  New material for the […]

There is a new blog setting out information about patent goings-on in Europe.  According to the EPLAW Patent Blog, it  aims to be a top-quality, free, independent European blog on patent law, providing speedy access to patent judgments and patent information from various European jurisdictions. In its coverage of the recent UK case, Neurim Pharmaceuticals […]

After the US Patent and Trademark Office denied a patent term extension under 35 U.S.C. §156, to Metvixia® — with an active ingredient methyl aminolevulinate hydrochloride — Photocure ASA sought a do-over in district court under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §702. The district court held that the PTO’s ruling was “not in accordance […]

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is increasing the availability of its patent electronic filing system, Electronic Filing System—Web (EFS-Web) by providing a new contingency option when the primary portal to EFS-Web has an unscheduled outage. Previously, the entire EFS-Web system is not available to the users during such an outage. The contingency […]

Recently, the courts looked at the question of whether separate enantiomers can have “first commercial marketing or use” status for purposes of patent term extension under 35 U.S.C. § 156. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, after consulting with the FDA, had granted an extension for US Pat. No. 5,053,407, which is exclusively licensed to […]

The Australian Patent Office (APO) is proposing official fee increases with effect from August 1, 2010.  Fees always go up (we don’t often get to report on fee decreases).  However, there is one new fee which will close off an existing loophole for avoiding excess claims fees. Those who regularly prosecute applications in Australia should […]