Patent Office Launches Glossary Pilot Program
The Patent Office has begun a new program to expedite certain patent applications which provide a glossary of the terms used in the claims.
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Application Data Sheets in Patent Applications
An Application Data Sheet is a sheet or sheets that may be voluntarily submitted in either a provisional or a nonprovisional application, which contains bibliographic data, arranged in a format specified by the Patent Office.
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Non-Enablement Responses to Prior Art Rejections
Rejections of patent applications are common. Inventors sometimes do not realize this. There are many reasons that rejections may be issued, the most frequent of which is usually some form of prior art rejection. A prior art rejection is either…
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Patent Office Issues New Internal Guidance on Subject Matter Eligibility
Patent Office Issues New Internal Guidance on Subject Matter Eligibility
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Secret Prior Use after the AIA Patent Reform
We’re closing in on the one-year anniversary of the AIA’s full implementation on March 16, 2013. Though some portions of the law have been in place for more than a year, there is still a great deal of debate about…
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Prosecution History Estoppel in Design Patents
Recently decided Pacfic Coast Marine Windshields, Ltd. v. Malibu Boats, LLC established, perhaps predictably, that prosecution history estoppel is a doctrine that can be enforced in design patent litigation. Prosecution history estoppel is the practice of defending a patent litigation…
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What Can and Cannot be Patented?
Patents can protect inventions, ornamental designs on articles of manufacture, and asexually reproduced plants. A utility patent is available for a new, nonobvious, and useful invention that falls into one of the following categories: Process Machine Article of manufacture Composition…
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Do I Need to Build my Invention to File a Patent Application?
There is no black-and-white requirement to build a prototype prior to filing a patent application, but in some cases, it is helpful, and in other cases, it will be required by the circumstances.
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Offers for Sale in the Post-AIA World
The US has been operating under the full enacted provisions of the America Invents Act for over six months now, and some of the questions presented by the new law have been answered. However, one area of uncertainty – troubling…
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Patent Office Will Remain Open Despite Possible Shutdown
The Patent and Trademark Office is unlikely to be closed if a government shutdown takes place tonight. The Office has a great deal of control over its own budget, and it maintains a reserve fund of money for certain situations…