WIPO Report Shows Growth in IP Rights before Onset of Economic Crisis

September 23, 2009

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced a new report monitoring recent trends in intellectual property (IP) activity.  The report shows that demand for IP rights continued to increase prior to the onset of the global economic crisis, with 1.85 million patent (+3.7% increase over 2006), almost 3.3 million trademark (+1.6%) and approximately 0.62 million [...]

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New USPTO Director Encourages The Use of Interviews To Expedite Patent and Trademark Prosecution

September 15, 2009

In a recent “Director’s Blog” post to USPTO employees, David Kappos outlined the benefits of personal interviews to expedite the prosecution of patent and trademark applications.  Reproduced below is the post:
The practice of conducting interviews with patent and trademark applicants has been around a long time.  At times interviews are clearly productive.  At other times, [...]

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USPTO Announces Senior Management Changes

September 3, 2009

Commissioner for Patents John Doll to Retire; Robert L. Stoll Nominated as Successor; Margaret Focarino Named Deputy Commissioner
The USPTO today announced significant changes among the senior management team of its Patent organization.  After 35 years at the USPTO, Commissioner for Patents John Doll has announced his intention to retire from the agency on October 2. [...]

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USPTO News: Joint Union and Management Task Force Begins Work of Addressing the Patent Examiner Count System

August 31, 2009

On Tuesday, August 25, a USPTO task force comprised of four members from the Patent Office Professional Association (POPA) and four from Patents Management met to begin work on re-engineering the patent examiner count system.  The day-long session was kicked off by USPTO Director David Kappos who emphasized the importance of their work, stating, “Creating [...]

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Summary of the Kappos Confirmation Hearing

Thumbnail image for Summary of the Kappos Confirmation Hearing July 29, 2009

The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary conducted a nomination hearing on July 29, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:14 a.m. for David J. Kappos to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  Beverly Baldwin Martin (to be United States Circuit Judge for the [...]

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Parties in Tafas Litigation Jointly Seek Stay Until 60 Days after Kappos Is Confirmed As Director

July 27, 2009

The plaintiffs and the government in the litigation challenging the PTO continuation and claim rules have jointly asked the Federal Circuit for a stay of en banc proceedings until 60 days after David Kappos is confirmed as the new PTO Director.  Tafas v. Doll, Fed. Cir., No. 2008-1352, motion filed 7/24/09.
In the “Joint Consent Motion For [...]

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Did Pre-Bilski Claim Construction Help Doom Patent Validity In District Court?

July 13, 2009

U.S. District Courts in California continue to be somewhat hostile towards patent applications when it comes to the question of what constitutes patentable subject matter.  On July 7, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California applied the Bilski machine-or-transformation test to the patentability of a method claim and found the claimed system [...]

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WIPO To Debate IP vs. Greentech

Thumbnail image for WIPO To Debate IP vs. Greentech July 13, 2009

The Financial Times reported today that efforts to avert a clash between the U.S. and emerging economies over patents at a climate change meeting later this year will top the agenda at a two-day conference that opens today on IP and public policy and organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
At the G8 summit [...]

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Amazon’s Kindle And Law Books – Soon The MPEP?

July 10, 2009

The Wall Stree Journal reported today that the Practising Law Institute (PLI) is making its books available for sale on Amzon.com Inc.’s Kindle, underscoring the widening appeal of the digital reader.
The discounts off print prices for digital works from the Practising Law Institute will be much smaller than those typical of Kindle best-sellers.
The Kindle edition of thriller [...]

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Senators Urged To Schedule Confirmation Hearing For PTO Director As Soon As Possible

Thumbnail image for Senators Urged To Schedule Confirmation Hearing For PTO Director As Soon As Possible July 9, 2009

The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) on Wednesday urged Senate Judiciary Committee leaders to schedule a hearing soon on the confirmation of President Obama’s pick, David Kappos, for Patent and Trademark Office director.  IPO said it is “critical for new management to be put in place as soon as possible” to address the many challenges currently [...]

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