Background On June 21, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in United States v. Arthrex, Inc., Nos. 19-1434, 19- 1452, 19-1458, 2021 WL 2519433, addressing the Constitution’s appointments clause as it relates to PTAB administrative patent judges (APJs). The court considered whether APJs are “principal officers” who must be appointed by the President…
In the U.S. v. Arthrex case, the US Supreme Court decided that PTAB judges were wrongly appointed but holding that the USPTO’s Director should have the unilateral ability to review the judges’ decisions. This way US Supreme Court has provided a remedy such that if PTAB decisions are reviewed by the USPTO’s Director then the constitutionality requirement would…
In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit stated that the title and claim language can limit the scope of a design patent when the patent’s drawings don’t indicate what type of product is involved. The court’s reasoning could have significant ramifications for design patent law. When considering the scope of a design patent, judges typically…
We received a Non- Final Office Action from the Examiner on March 16, 2020 in which the Examiner did not allow any of our claims. More specifically, the Examiner rejected our broadest claim 1, as well as claims 2, 4, 7, 9, 13-16, 18 and 20 with a total of seven different references. Additionally, the…
This is a good example of we never give up and do anything we can for our client to get a successful result. This is an application at the European Patent Office (EPO) where the case received an oral proceeding notice after several office communications. The last office action rejected all claims under…
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed significant hardships on many of our stakeholders. As a result, the USPTO has waived certain fees under existing authority through the March 16 notice, and has extended certain patent and Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) deadlines three times under the Coronavirus…
On June 15, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced the COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Program for certain trademark and service mark applications, which allows COVID-19-related trademark applications to be advanced out of turn and immediately assigned for examination. On June 30, the USPTO launched a related webpage, where applicants can find additional resources and information…
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced plans for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to begin accepting petitions for expedited resolution of ex parte appeals. The “Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program” launches July 2, 2020. The required petition fee is $400. “The Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program serves as an extension of…
The USPTO issued a new communication regarding patent related deadlines for those affected by the COVID-19. The announcement is given below. In accordance with section 12004 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) further extends the time to file certain patent-related…
The USPTO issued a new commun regarding trademark related deadlines for those affected by the COVID-19. The announcement is given below. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed significant hardships on many of our stakeholders. As a result, the USPTO has waived certain fees under existing authority,…