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Recent Blog Posts

Patent Claim Construction – Words and Phrases – “Adapted to”

Words and phrases used in patent claims are supposed to have an accepted, predictable meaning unless the inventor provides some special meaning. Occasionally a patent examiner will try to import a much broader meaning so that he or she can apply a reference patent that may actually be a bit too distant from the invention’s Read More »

Copyright Fair Use and Information Diclosure Statements

Copying scientific articles for the purpose of submitting them to the USPTO as background prior art would be a non-commercial fair use, and not copyright infringement, according to a recent decision of the District Court for the Northern District of Texas, in Am. Inst. of Physics v. Winstead P.C. This seems to hold even for Read More »

USPTO Extends its After Consideration Pilot Project

The patents commissioner has announced that the After Consideration Pilot Project 2.0 (AFCP 2.0), which had been scheduled to expire December 14, 2013, is being extended through September 30, 2014. The same procedures and requirements will apply during the extension. I have found this procedure useful in obtaining allowance in several cases where there was Read More »

Patentablity – KSR v Teleflex Revisited

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has taken the opportunity to remind the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (now the Patent Trial and Appeal Board), as well as the district courts, that they are to give a holistic, rather than narrowly-focused view of the prior art when evaluating patentablity. In Randall Mfg. v. Rea Read More »

Patent Legislation Introduced in Congress

Pending Patent legislation that has been recently introduced in the 113th Congress includes two notable bills: the “Innovation Protection Act” — HR 3349 (Conyers), and the “Innovation Act” — HR 3309 (Goodlatte). The Innovation Protection Act is intended to fully fund the USPTO, establishing an “Enterprise Fund” that would let the USPTO keep the funds Read More »

2014 Patent Fee Schedule to Reduce Some Fees

The new patent office fee schedule that goes into effect in January 2014 will reduce (or eliminate) some fees, while raising some other fees to be paid later on. This impacts the issue fee(s) that the applicants have to pay before the USPTO will grant a patent on an allowed patent application. The issue fees, Read More »

Government “Shut-Down” News

According to acting Director of the USPTO, Teresa Rea, there is sufficient carryover funding to continue operations of the patent and trademark activities for at least a short time, in case the House of Representative and Senate are unable to agree on a Continuing Resolution by Tuesday, October 1, 2013. The carryover amounts to about Read More »

USPTO Patent Application Initiatives

The USPTO has placed an Initiatives Timeline on its web site as graphic guidance to display how various initiatives affect patent applications during each phase of the application process, at this web address : https://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/patapp-initiatives-timeline.jsp I have had some good results from use of the After Final Consideration Pilot or AFCP 2.0.  Perhaps readers can Read More »

Help prevent preventable deaths

I recently participated in a seminar on  “Recognizing and Responding to Warning Signs of Suicide Risk in Clients and Colleagues” and felt what I learned was worth passing along: It always seems like a surprise and shock when a friend, colleague, or family member takes his or her own life, but there are warning signs Read More »

New York State – Third in Nation in Patents

New York state is third in the nation for residents obtaining patents, as of Fiscal Year 2012.  California is at the top of the list, with as many patents issued to its residents as the next five states combined.  Here are the top twelve states, and number of patents for residents of each: CA    33,866 Read More »