Last fall, the USPTO announced a goal of reducing the amount of patent applications awaiting a first office action.  The goal was to reduce the backlog to less than 700,000 applications.  Last week, USPTO Commissioner for Patents, Bob Stoll, the USPTO has hit a “major milestone” by dropping the backlog of patent applications awaiting first office action [...]

Last month, the USPTO announced it would be studying the impact that the decision of Therasense v. Becton, Dickinson would have on the agency and its practices and procedures. You can find the press release here. The Therasense v. Becton, Dickinson Decision concerns the duty of disclosure and the standards for inequitable conduct. The decision [...]

With gasoline well north of $4 per gallon and summer right around the corner, now would be a good time to start mass producing the jet cars.  When I was a kid, we were promised jet cars.  Popular Science magazine (back when the cover price was $1) said there would be jet cars.  With one [...]

On Monday of this week the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) started accepting requests for prioritized examination of patent applications.  As mentioned in our blog of February 11, 2011 this accelerated examination will allow patents to be processed within 12 months.  Currently it takes nearly three years to process a patent.  Requests for [...]

Per a press release last Friday, the USPTO announced  ”special accomodations” for patent and trademark applicants and owners that are located in Japan.  The accomodations relate to extending deadlines for responses to trademark and patent office actions, notices of allowance and other notices from the USPTO.  The accomodations also waive surcharges with respect to late payment [...]

Sam Adams® beer is a popular domestic beer that has been brewed in Boston, Massachusetts since 1985 by the Boston Beer Company.  Over the past twenty-five years the Boston Beer Company has expanded in size (the company now brews beer in Cincinnati and Pennsylvania as well as Boston) and selection (the company now has seven [...]

Spring training is in full swing this week.  While America’s Favorite Pastime is not normally thought of as an opportunity to talk about intellectual property, take a minute to think about all of the patents and trademarks that are associated with the game.  Besides the obvious (baseballs, gloves, and bats) there are U.S. patents and [...]

President Lincoln once stated that “the patent system . . . , secured to the inventor for a limited time exclusive use of his inventions, and thereby added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius in the discovery and production of new and useful things.”  Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, [...]

Dunkin’ Donuts® (“DD”)  has a new commercial that shows the Patent Office stamping DD’s patent application for its new “re-invented” doughnut.  The commercial can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150138952077754 So, can you patent a doughnut? Turns out the answer may be yes!  Just this Tuesday, Roskam Baking Company received U.S. design patent no. D632,456 for a “Multi-Layered Doughnut Product.”   Additionally, Donuts [...]

On February 3rd, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced its “Three Track” patent application program that is “designed to enable applicants to choose the speed with which their patent application is processed.”  (http://www.uspto.gov/news/pr/2011/11_08.jsp).  Forthcoming information from the USPTO will outline the requirements applicants need to fulfill in order to take advantage of each [...]