Patent Baristas

Well, oral arguments were held yesterday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to hear the matter of the Tafas v. Dudas and the US Patent Office, an appeal of the claims and continuations rules promulgated by the USPTO which were preliminarily enjoined and ultimately permanently enjoined by the District Court effect […]

In the ten weeks between the election and the inauguration, we will have plenty of time to ponder what changes, if any, might be in store for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  Many believe its interminable quest to improve so-called patent quality has led to a precipitous drop in patent allowances. The question is, […]

Today the PTO published a notice in the Federal Register inviting public comments on paperwork burdens associated with the Ex parte Appeal Rule (73 Fed. Reg. 32937-32977, June 10, 2008).  This Information Collection Request (ICR)  an application from an agency to OMB for OMB’s approval under Paperwork Reduction Act, giving the agency authority to collect information […]

Earlier, Dr. Triantafyllos Tafas’ lawsuit, arguing that the proposed U.S. Patent Office continuation rules are void for exceeding its authority, won a permanent injunction prohibiting the USPTO from putting the new rules changes into effect (Final Rules; 72 Federal Register 161 at 46716).  Tafas v. Dudas and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Dr. […]

In a notice labeled “Clarification of Patent Regulations Currently in Effect, and Revision in Applicability Date of Provisions Relating to Patent Applications Containing Patentably Indistinct Claim,” the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a notice to “clarify” just which patent-related regulations are currently in effect. The earlier proposed changes in the Claims and Continuations […]

Earlier, Dr. Triantafyllos Tafas’ lawsuit, arguing that the proposed U.S. Patent Office continuation rules are void for exceeding its authority, won a permanent injunction prohibiting the USPTO from putting the new rules changes into effect (Final Rules; 72 Federal Register 161 at 46716).  Triantyfyllos Tafas v. John Dudas and the United States Patent and Trademark […]

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published some new rules that will improve (their word, not ours) the process of ex parte appeals before the USPTO’s Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI). The rules are supposed to help to streamline the appeal process and lead to more timely Board decisions.  We’ll see. The […]

Senate Reform Bill It appears that the Senate has pulled the plug on the Patent Reform Act (S. 1145) after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pulled the bill from the floor schedule. This is not a huge surprise given the interests against it. (via ars technica) A problematic area was a proposed change to the […]