Patent Baristas

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”  ~British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli Surveys are everywhere and poll results are available for every imaginable topic.  In the U.S.,   there were concerns about the admissibility of surveys for hearsay reasons but legislative amendment (Rule 702 of the 1975 Federal Rules of Evidence) eliminated  […]

What: American Conference Institute’s Comprehensive Guide to Patent Reform For Life Sciences Companies. With the historic passing of The America Invents Act, H.R. 1249, the United States is now facing the most significant patent reform in more than 60 years. Patent reform is now a reality. Based on extensive research with industry experts, ACI has […]

What:  New Paradigms to Fund and Move Drug Development:  Finding the Fastest Pat to Funding & Regulatory Approval When: January 11-12, 2012 Where: Marines’ Memorial Club & Hotel 609 Sutter Street San Francisco, CA 94102 www.marineclub.com New Paradigms is guided by key individuals from biotech, pharma and the investment community to advance R&D through alternative […]

Today we talk IP insurance with Robert Fletcher, president and founder of Intellectual Property Insurance Services Corporation (IPISC). Patent Baristas:  Hello, Bob! I’m very interested in your work with intellectual property insurance. It’s one of those things that I’ve “heard” a lot about but really don’t have any first-hand experience with it. Can you explain […]

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published the amended rules governing practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Board or BPAI) in ex parte patent appeals. The USPTO amends the rules to: Remove several of the briefing requirements for an appeal brief, provide for the Board to take jurisdiction over the […]

“The U.S. patent system has shown a remarkable ability for identifying flaws and implementing self-correcting, substantive policy changes within existing authority.”  ~Barfield and Calfee On September 16, 2011, President Obama signed the Patent Reform Act of 2011 into law (“America Invents Act”).  It is the first major reform of the patent system in decades.  The […]

In the on-going saga of the patentability of correlations between blood test results and patient health, Prometheus Laboratories submitted its brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The Court granted cert for the second time in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Labs., Inc, Supreme Court No. 10-1150, to consider whether to set limits on when inventors […]

James Madison submitted to the framers of the Constitution a provision “to secure to literary authors their copyrights for a limited time.”  ~August 18, 1787 The various forms of intellectual property (patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc.) all have roots in European laws developed over centuries.  The precursor of modern copyright law first appeared in Britain in […]