Patent Baristas

You’re not alone in your suffering.  The recession has even hit the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which is funded by fees from patent applications and other services.  John Doll, acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, said the patent office is projecting a 2 percent drop in applications, if trends continue. What’s […]

Vaya con dios, Genentech Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche is going to pay $46.8 billion in cash to buy the 44 percent of biotech leader Genentech that it doesn’t already own.  The deal values Genentech at more than $100 billion.  Fortunately, one of Roche’s big products is the tranquilizer Valium.  Genentech’s Avastin, a treatment for various […]

The Apple iPhone has really converted me to a podcast listener.  While I had an iPod and listened to a few podcasts before, I rarely had it with me.  Now, with the iPhone as my podcast player, I always have it with me.  This past week, I got an up-close encounter with a new podcast, […]

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services is looking for input on a report looking at the effects of gene patents on patient access to genetic tests.  The Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society (SACGHS) is requesting public comments on a draft report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, “Public Consultation […]

Reps. Henry A. Waxman, Frank Pallone, Nathan Deal, and Jo Ann Emerson are giving another try at getting a pathway set for follow-on biologics.  They have introduced H.R. 1427, the “Promoting Innovation and Access to Life-Saving Medicine Act,” a bipartisan bill to allow the Food and Drug Administration to approve generic copies of biotech drugs.  […]

The USPTO published a notice in the Federal Register that extends the period for public comment on deferred examination until May 29, 2009.  You now have plenty of time to put together that pithy memorandum with your thoughts on why the Patent Office should or should not park patent applications on a shelf for years […]

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a full committee hearing on “Patent Reform in the 111th Congress: Legislation and Recent Court Decisions” for Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building. The Patent Reform Act of 2009 legislation (S.515 and H.R.1260) is set to pick […]

The Innovation Alliance, a coalition claiming to be committed to improving patent quality while protecting and promoting innovation, claims that the court system has taken up patent reform on its own making it more difficult for innovators to obtain and enforce patent rights and thus making patent reform moot. The group claims that when patent […]