Patent Baristas

Congress directed the USPTO to submit a report on virtual marking after enactment of the AIA. The AIA made many changes to United States patent law, including an amendment to 35 U.S.C. § 287(a), the so-called “marking” statute. The purpose of marking an article is to provide constructive notice to the public that the article […]

I recently received a note form an in-house counsel asking for feedback on a proposed standard for invention disclosures.  This is an offshoot of LEDES (www.ledes.org) by representatives from universities, law firms, companies, and software vendors. The intent is to provide an open standard for transferring invention data, typically from inventors to their patent attorneys. The LEDES […]

Unless your invention is similar to a chemical compound or other, non-visual composition, you will need to do patent drawings. These drawings are not only beneficial in documenting your invention; they are a necessity in various stages of your patent application. How Many Do You Need? At least one patent drawing, or patent illustration, as […]

From Dr. Matthew Barton, a UK Chartered Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney at Forresters: We have learnt that the EPO has made formal proposals to remove the current two-year time limit for filing divisionals. At the present time applicants may only file voluntary divisionals within two years from the first examination report in a family of […]

Pure software patents have become the focus of a heated innovation policy debate. On the one hand, new technological innovation is now a commonplace feature of our lives.  On the other hand, the high-tech industry seems awash in patent litigation, especially in the “smart phone war” between Apple, Samsung, Google, Microsoft, and other high-tech firms. […]

Nobody ever goes home and says, honey, let me tell you about what I learned about patents today.” ~Charles Duhigg, New York Times reporter Terry Gross of NPR’s Fresh Air program did a segment about patents today with an interview with Charles Duhigg, a New York Times reporter who recently wrote about the patent wars […]

What: “Effective and Practical Strategies for Prosecuting and Litigating Biotech Patents in an Increasingly Uncertain Legal Environment” American Conference Institute’s 14th Advanced Forum on Biotech Patents The ongoing implementation of the America Invents Act and a massive upheaval of subject matter patentability signal that this continues to be a period of intense uncertainty for the biotechnology […]

On September 16, 2011, President Barack Obama signed into law the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.   This Act is often referred to as the most comprehensive overhaul to our patent system since 1836. Seven provisions of the AIA and USPTO implementing final rules for these provisions go into effect today on September 16, 2012: 1.  Inventor’s […]