New proposed USPTO changes to patent and trademark practice

The USPTO has announced proposed changes to their rules for (a) terminal disclaimers for obviousness-type double patenting and  (b) trademark renewals where the mark is registered for more than one type of goods in a class. If the patent examiner is requiring you to file a terminal disclaimer (so a closely related patent does not extend beyond the statutory term of an earlier related patent), they are also going to require a statement that the second patent will not be enforced if the relevant claims of the earlier related patent are found to be unpatentable (either in an infringement trial or in a USPTO post-grant challenge). Also, for any trademark renewal for a registration that covers more than one type of goods in a single class (for instance, both gloves and shoes in the apparel class — 28) the trademark renewal examiners are going to want to see proof that you are using the mark on both, and if the renewal specimen submitted is the mark used on shoes, they are going to want to see proof that the mark is still used on gloves also. If you have dropped use of the mark on gloves, then you should cancel that from the identification of goods at the time of renewal, or else there is an additional fee if you have to cancel those goods after renewal. The US PTO is trying to take steps that will clean up the trademark register by doing away with registrations for marks not actually in active use. I would imagine we will see further changes over the next coming months or years.