Intellectual Property Newsletters
MARCH, 2011
Legislative Update
On March 8, 2011 the U.S. Senate passed an overhaul to the U.S. patent system in a 95-5 vote. The bill is part of a plan to "out innovate" the rest of the world. The House plans to introduce and vote on its own bill in the coming weeks. This overhaul is one of the most important changes to the patent system in over 60 years. The Senate Bill will end the practice of diverting money from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The bill will give the USPTO more power to set fees which will likely mean higher filing fees in the future and more money for the USPTO to hire more examiners, especially at the new satellite office in Detroit. The biggest change is a shift to a "first to file" system from a "first to invent" system. This means that the first inventor to file a patent application will prevail in a dispute among other putative inventors.
JUNE, 2010
Professor Paul Janice of the University of Houston Law School published a recent article on venue transfers, or the lack thereof, from the Eastern District of Texas in patent infringement cases. Some defendants consider this District unfavorable and difficult to reach from other major cities. In the past, defendants have felt that it was virtually impossible to get a transfer out of the Eastern District. However, a 2009 decision has changed this situation and the Eastern District is now transferring patent cases to other Districts at a much higher rate. Some defendants are much relieved to be out of the Eastern District of Texas.
MAY, 2010
Everyone knows that President Obama has nominated two new Supreme Court Justices. One has been sworn in and is currently sitting on the bench and the other is awaiting the confirmation process. But have you heard that by the end of 2010 as many as eight vacancies may occur on the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ("CAFC"), the Court that hears all patent infringement appeals from all over the country. Currently, the CAFC has 16 Judges sitting on the bench. Change may be coming to the CAFC this year.
APRIL, 2010
I attended a two day program generically referred to as a CLE, ("Continuing Legal Education") sponsored by the American Bar Association in Alexandria, Virginia. This program is now in its 25 year. I have been a speaker at the program in the past and feel that it is one of the better CLE programs on IP in the country. Because of its proximity to D.C., Judges from the Federal Circuit, the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other dignitaries are available to give speeches updating attorney on pending IP legislation, new rules at the PTO and recent cases. The most important issue raised at this CLE is the growing backlog of pending patent applications and the increasing rejection rates among Examiners. The new Director of the PTO assured us that new incentives have been put in place for Examiners which should reduce the backlog of pending applications. Pending IP legislation is at the bottom of the agenda and will not be enacted by the current Congress.
March, 2010
Examiners reincentivized
David Kappos, the Director for the USPTO announced new rules designed to reduce the backlog of more than 700,000 pending patent applications. Mr. Kappos is one of the first Directors in recent memory that actually has a background in IP law. He put representatives from the Patent Examiners Union and representatives of the USPTO in a room and locked the door. They were told not to come out until they had come up with a way to reduce the backlog. The solution is a new incentive system to grade the productivity of each examiner. The goal is to reincentivize the examining corps. The old counting system for examiners is out and a new system is now in effect. Time will tell if this actually reduces the backlog.
