The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is largely protected from the government shutdown but is not immune from other plans that have been brewing for a long time. In my circle, there has been a lot of talk about…
On August 28, the White House issued an executive order which stripped collective-bargaining rights at several agencies, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, instantly reshaping labor relations for thousands of patent examiners. The executive order premises the change on…
I was attempting to file a provisional application today in the USPTO’s no-longer-new-but-still-quite-buggy Patent Center filing system. I am glad I not up against a deadline today. I logged in, and a “Search Limit Reached” error message immediately popped up,…
I recently wrote about the use of DAS for transmitting priority documents to foreign patent offices. Today, I describe how to get your priority documents into DAS. Note that this description is applicable only to first-filed US patent applications. If…
The Digital Access Service (DAS) at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a secure, electronic system designed to facilitate the sharing and exchange of priority documents among participating patent offices around the world. Here is a breakdown of its…
In April, we had a major success for a client. I am thrilled to announce it here now. Over the years, I’ve drafted, prosecuted, and granted utility patents, design patents, and trademarks for The Comfy. Recently, a jury awarded them…
Information disclosure statements are filings made with the Patent Office to disclose references that might be relevant to an invention described in a patent application. The Patent Office imposes a duty on everyone associated with a patent application to submit…
Recently the website IPWatchdog published an article that addressed a topic important enough that I thought I should mention it here as well. It concerns patent maintenance fees and the possible accidental payment of maintenance fees on already-expired patents. Patent…
If a Patent Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office believes that your application claims more than one invention, he or she will issue a restriction requirement. Restriction requirements are incredibly common and are a normal part of…
Continuation-in-part patent applications are a strange type of continuing patent application. They are a tool that can extend the life of a patent family and protect improvements to inventions covered by prior patents. They have significant risks, however, and should…