All posts by Jonathan Hummel

Patent Term Adjustment

Patent

by Dennis Crouch

vast majority of newly issued patents are granted some amount of patent term adjustment (PTA) — often more than 18 months — added to the end of the patent to account for delays in the issuance of the patent. In the rececent case of Exelixis v. Kappos, the E.D.V.A. district court held that the PTO has been undercalculating PTA for (in my estimate) more than 10% of all recently issued patents. The PTO has not yet challenged that decision but it has also not taken action to correct its calculations.

The following survey is intended to get a feel for how the patent community is responding.

Related articles
Impact of Exelixis on Patent Term
Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) Statistics
Patent Specifications Continue to Rise in Size

Patent Term Adjustment

Patent

by Dennis Crouch

vast majority of newly issued patents are granted some amount of patent term adjustment (PTA) — often more than 18 months — added to the end of the patent to account for delays in the issuance of the patent. In the rececent case of Exelixis v. Kappos, the E.D.V.A. district court held that the PTO has been undercalculating PTA for (in my estimate) more than 10% of all recently issued patents. The PTO has not yet challenged that decision but it has also not taken action to correct its calculations.

The following survey is intended to get a feel for how the patent community is responding.

Related articles
Impact of Exelixis on Patent Term
Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) Statistics
Patent Specifications Continue to Rise in Size

A Rush to File at the End of Inter Partes Reexaminations

Patent

By Dennis Crouch

Two weeks ago I posted a list of issues to consider prior to the September 16, 2012 post grant changeover.  Two big changes were that (1) the relatively inexpensive inter partes reexamination is no longer available; and (2) the fee for filing an ex parte reexamination has risen 7-fold from $2,500 to $17,750.  In the days leading up to the changeover, several hundred reexaminations were filed –almost an entire year’s worth of reexamination requests.  See the chart below for inter partes reexaminations and note that the September filings are only for the first half of September (no filings accepted after September 15).

 

PatentlyO151

 

The Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) may be working quite hard for the next three months to meet the 90–day deadline for determining whether or not to grant the petitions.

This suggests that many potential patent challengers are not happy with the new system. 

A Rush to File at the End of Inter Partes Reexaminations

Patent

By Dennis Crouch

Two weeks ago I posted a list of issues to consider prior to the September 16, 2012 post grant changeover.  Two big changes were that (1) the relatively inexpensive inter partes reexamination is no longer available; and (2) the fee for filing an ex parte reexamination has risen 7-fold from $2,500 to $17,750.  In the days leading up to the changeover, several hundred reexaminations were filed –almost an entire year’s worth of reexamination requests.  See the chart below for inter partes reexaminations and note that the September filings are only for the first half of September (no filings accepted after September 15).

 

PatentlyO151

 

The Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) may be working quite hard for the next three months to meet the 90–day deadline for determining whether or not to grant the petitions.

This suggests that many potential patent challengers are not happy with the new system. 

Selling Patents

Patent,

InterDigital just sold 1,700 worldwide patents and pending applications to Intel for $375 million in cash –  boosting Intel’s mobile circuitry patent portfolio.  InterDigital was able to transform a substantial number of its fairly non-liquid assets (patents) into cash.  On the purchase, InterDigital’s stock price immediately jumped about 28%.  The price change represents an increase of Company valuation of around $260 million.  One way to look at this price jump is as a reflection in the ongoing difficulty in monetizing patent rights.  Before the deal, investors seemingly valued the patents at only 1/3 of their eventual cash value — largely because it would have been much too speculative to predict that the patents could actually be sold for the price asked.

Patent2011072

The chart above shows InterDigital’s stock price jump immediately following the deal’s announcement. The chart below looks at InterDigital stock prices for the past six months. The sale date and price jump is seen at the far right.  As is obvious, the sale does not make-up for the huge loss in valuation that the company has seen over the past few months. 

Patent2011073

Although every story is unique, it is reflective upon a fact that business leaders know — although patents are valuable and useful assets, it is exceedingly difficult to rely on patents as a company’s primary revenue source. Kodak knows this well.  The company is in bankruptcy and is in the process of selling its final few assets — mainly intellectual property rights that it could not previously fully monetize during.

 

 

Patents for Humanity

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The patent system is sometimes frustrating to policymakers because of its market approach to invention. Innovators and investors decide the focus of research – not policymakers. As such, we tend to see research investment in areas of market value rather than areas that serve humanity in a broader or more altruistic sense. Now, these notions of market incentives and advancing humanism often overlap. A cure for cancer would serve humanity, but would be quite valuable in the marketplace as well. But, the point is that – with the patent system – the decision making is normally well outside of the control of policymakers.

When the government has specific technological advancement goals, it tends to choose non-patent development mechanisms such as finding a contractor to develop the technology, offering a grant to researchers, or perhaps offering a prize for successful development.

In a recent release, the USPTO and White House have announced a new hybrid program to provide an additional patent incentive for inventors who "do the most to apply their technologies to pressing global challenges." The way the program operates is that do-good inventors (and corporate patent owners) will receive an award certificate that can be used to accelerate the prosecution any patent application in their portfolio (a $4,800 value).

Through this initiative, the USPTO seeks to reward inventors who show that they have used their patented technologies to significantly address public health quality or to advance scientific research on neglected humanitarian issues. Such technologies may include life-saving medicines and vaccines, medical diagnostic equipment, more nutritious or heartier crops, food storage & preservation technology, water sterilization devices, cleaner sources of household light and heat, or information devices promoting literacy and education, among others. Awardees will be chosen by judges selected from academia for their expertise in medicine, law, science, engineering, public policy, or a related field.

Submissions will begin on March 1 and up to 50 winners will be chosen this calendar year.

Link: http://patentsforhumanity.challenge.gov/

USPTO Patent Grants

Patent

The USPTO appears headed toward another record breaking year in 2011 — issuing more utility patents in 2011 than in any prior year. I project that the PTO will issue about 225,000 utility patents by the end of the year, slightly more than last year’s record number of just under 220,000.  The vast majority of patents issued this year claim priority to at least one earlier patent document such as an international patent application (PCT), US provisional application, or prior US utility application.

PatentlyO121

Data is here.

Bits and Bytes by Dennis Crouch

Patent

PTO Funding:

  • PTO Funding: The US Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (i.e., the Congressional Super-Committee) is unlikely to come to any agreement before its statutory deadline of November 23, 2011. The result is that the PTO’s allowed expenditures will likely be reduced in the resulting across-the-board cuts.
  • PTO Funding: Senator Kyl had pushed for a USPTO-funding provision in the Super-Committee agreement that would give the agency full authority to spend fees collected. However, that result is unlikely even if an agreement is eventually reached.
  • PTO Funding: As expected, the PTO received a rush of filings in the days leading up to the 15% fee hike on September 26, 2011. The PTO will not be allowed to spend that money because those payments were received in FY2011 and because the PTO had already collected more than its $2.09 billion authorization. Thus, for FY2011, $209 million in fee-revenue will be kept by the Treasury and spent on other governmental programs. The “reserve fund” was not established until the start of FY2012.

Dispute Resolution:

  • Dispute Resolution: Professor S.I. Strong and I both recently joined the Patent Mediation Task Force of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution. The Patent Mediation Task Force is chaired by Manny Schecter of IBM. Our Task Force is focusing on both addressing particular hurdles that patent litigation presents for the mediation process and promoting mediation as a valuable tool resolving and narrowing patent disputes.
  • Dispute Resolution: I am also happy to announce that I recently joined University of Missouri’s Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution as a Senior Fellow.

iPad App:

  • iPad App: The folks at Cooper Legal have developed a Patent Portal App for searching for and viewing patents and patent applications.
  • iPad App: Tom Brow has developed an iPad app for logging in to EFS-web and PrivatePAIR.  The app securely transmits your PKI certificate and password to a remote server, which logs you in, then discards the certificate and password.  EFS and PrivatePAIR can then be used as usual, with no further server involvement.  Brow is looking for testers in the private beta.

Patently-O Bits and Bytes by Dennis Crouch

Patent

My Upcoming Events: I am not travelling much this fall, but I will be speaking at two upcoming events:

  • September 15-17, 2011: MarcusEvans IP Law Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada (Red Rock Casino). Speakers include Robert Bahr (USPTO Commissioner); Ankur D. Shah (AGC for Freddie Mac); Mallory Levitt (AGC for CBS); etc.
  • October 6-8, 2011: 27th Annual Institute on Intellectual Property hosted by Houston Intellectual Property Law Association and the University of Houston Law Center. The Institute has an excellent lineup of speakers, including Russ Levine (my former boss at Kirkland & Ellis); David Healey (PatentMath); Hal Wegner; Professor Nancy Rappaport (Las Vegas); Lord Justice Robin Jacob (Court of Appeal of England and Wales); Professor Paul Janicke (Houston Law Center); Michael Smith (E.D.Tex. Blog); Professor Phillip Page (South Texas); etc. Registration is around $600.

FUNDRAISER: My son started preschool today at the Waldorf-inspired Garden Gate school. We’re helping with the school fundraiser – a national flower bulb sale. Plant the bulbs this fall – when they come up in the spring you will hopefully pause to realize that the Leahy-Smith Act was just a bad dream. (Mail delivery; the school keeps 50% of revenue). Thank you – Dennis.

Federal Circuit Judicial Watch

Patent

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is a twelve member court, but that membership has been undergoing major changes over the past few years.

Most recently, Judge Arthur J. Gajarsa has announced his plan to step away from active service and assume senior status at the end of this week. Judge Gajarsa's absence creates a second open seat on the court. Although Edward DuMont has been nominated to fill the other open seat (vacated by Chief Judge Paul Michel, it appears likely that DuMont's nomination will not move forward at this point. Earlier this year, Judge Jimmie V. Reyna was confirmed by the Senate. The court has typically been seen as only lightly-partisan according to traditional Republican-Democratic lines, however it is interesting to note that Judge Reyna's confirmation marks the first time in history that the majority of active judges on the court were nominated by a Democratic President. Judge Kathleen O'Malley also joined the court on December 27, 2010.

With the recent passing of Judges Archer and Friedman, the court only includes four senior status judges: Judges Mayer, Plager, Clevenger, and Schall. As mentioned, Judge Gajarsa will soon join the senior status ranks. In 2011, senior judges have participated in over 20% of Federal Circuit panel decisions. Judges Newman, Lourie, Bryson, and Dyk are all eligible for Senior Status and Judge Linn will be eligible on his next birthday. Although none of those five have publicly announced any intent to step down, many expect at least two more lines to open-up during the next year.

The current Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit is Randall Rader. The position of Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit is given to the most senior active member of the court who is less than 65 years old and who has not previously been Chief Judge. The term is seven years. If Judge Rader serves-out his entire seven year term, then the next Chief Judge will be Judge Kimberly Moore. If, however, he resigns at least a year early, then Judge Sharon Prost would take on the post at age 64.

Thanks also to Hal Wegner of Foley & Lardner who has been keeping tabs on the Court.

Patently-O Bits & Bytes by Lawrence Higgins

Patent, ,

Although in the midst of final exams, Lawrence Higgins was still able to complete this week’s installment of Bits and Bytes – DC

Indiana University Maurer launches Center for IP Research

  • The Center for IP Research just launched and has named Mark Janis as the director of the center. The purpose of the center is support the study of all aspects of IP law and related fields. The center will promote a dialogue on IP law among scholars, judges, policymakers, practitioners and students. The center also has created an online journal titled IP Theory, which can be accessed through the site, or directly at iptheory.org. [Link]

2 millionth PCT application filed

  • Qualcomm filed the 2 millionth PCT application near the end of April, marking a significant milestone. The PCT makes it easier for companies and inventors to seek patent rights in multiple countries. A single international patent application under the PCT has legal effect in all 142 countries bound by the treaty. The PCT system, first launched in 1978 and up until recent was mostly used by the US and Europe. However, in recent years Asia has accounted for the largest number of PCT applications. [Link]

Nortel patent bidding update

  • Nortel has set up a database with details about the patents that potential bidders can access after signing an agreement to keep the information confidential. Qualified bidders will be required to submit offers for the patent portfolio by June 13, to participate in the June 20 auction according to the bidding rules. [Link] The next bidder must at least make a $929 million dollar bid, to outbid Google’s $900 million dollar offer. [Link]

Patent Jobs:

  • Ballard Spahr is looking for a patent attorney with 2-5 years of experience to work in their Atlanta office. [Link]
  • Ventana Medical Systems is seeking a patent attorney with at least 8 years of experience. [Link]
  • Klarquist Sparkman is searching for an IP litigation attorney with 1-2 years of experience to work in their Portland office. [Link]
  • University of Notre Dame Law School is seeking a Director of IP and Entrepreneurship Clinic. [Link]

Upcoming Events:

  • The 3rd Annual Corporate IP Counsel Forum will be held May 24-25 in New York. The Corporate IP Counsel Summit is the premier forum to hear about solutions to maximize IP assets, avoid costly litigation, create and maintain efficient infrastructure, fully integrate IP strategies into business plans, prepare for anticipated patent law changes, and much more. Guest speakers include Michael Bishop, Mony Ghose, Mark Costello, Michael Springs, Charles Kwalwasser, and Timothy Wilson. Patently-O readers will receive a $100 discount by using promo code FZA884. [Link]
  • The American Conference Institute (ACI) will hold a Hatch-Waxman Boot Camp July 18-19 in San Diego. ACI’s Hatch-Waxman Boot Camp has been designed to give counsel and advisors to brand name and generic drug critical insights into commercialization and the pre-approval process, and also provide an in-depth review of Hatch-Waxman and other IP basics relative to small molecules and biologics. [Link]
  • American University Washington College of Law will host the first annual Global Congress on Public Interest Intellectual Property August 25-27 in Washington DC. The Global Congress on Public Interest Intellectual Property will serve as a site for the sharing of research, ideas and policy proposals for how international intellectual property law should be constructed to better protect the full range of global public interest concerns. [Link]

     

Contact Lawrence.Higgins@patentlyo.com with leads for future Bits and Bytes.

Patently-O Bits & Bytes by Lawrence Higgins

Patent,

Jay Walker sues more than 100 of companies for patent infringement

  • Jay Walker is a successful inventor and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Priceline, a website that offers discounts on hotels, cruises, and other travel related items. Walker has now sued more than 100 companies for patent infringement. He contends that these companies violated various patents that he owns. Walker’s suit against Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft and others claim their mapping technology infringes his patents. [Complaint] Walker’s suit against companies like Groupon and Livingsocial claim that they infringe four of his patents. One such patent (6,249,772) called “Systems and Methods Wherein A Buyer Purchases A Product At A First Price And Acquires The Product From A Merchant That Offers The Product For Sale At A Second Price.” [Complaint]

Number of patent applications in Europe hits all-time high

  • The EPO received 235,000 European patent filings in 2010, the highest number ever in the office’s 34-year history. Over 33% of the filings came from European states, 26% from the US and 18% from Japan. EPO’s president Battistelli states that, “after a 2-year slump, the EU and US are nearly back to their levels of patenting before the crisis.” Is this a sign that the economy is improving? [Link]

Patent issued for bubbles!

  • On March 22 the USPTO issued patent #7,910,531 titled “Composition and method for producing colored bubbles” to C2C Technologies. However, on that same day Crayola filed a re-exam 95/001,582 which asserts anticipation and obviousness. Crayola filed the re-exam because they already have colored bubbles on sale in stores and would likely be liable for patent infringement if they do not find a way to get the patent invalidated. [Link]

Patent Jobs:

  • Shumaker & Sieffert is seeking to hire patent attorneys with 1-5 years experience for their Twin Cities office. The firm will consider remote working relationships for experienced attorneys. [Link]
  • Holland & Hart is searching go trademark attorney with 4+ years experience for their Boulder office. [Link]
  • Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack is seeking an entry-level patent attorney with a chemical background for their Washington D.C. office. [Link]
  • Chernoff Vilhauer is looking for their patent attorney with 4+ years of experience for their Portland office. [Link]

Upcoming Events:

  • William Mitchell College of Law will hold the 2nd annual Patterson Thuente IP Lecture on April 21st. Judge Randall Radar will discuss the most pressing issues in patent law. [Link]
  • Fordham Intellectual Property Law Institute will host the 19th Annual Intellectual Property Law and Policy Conference April 28th -29th. David Kappos, Victoria Espinel, Judge Newman, Judge Radar, and many others in the IP field will be in attendance. [Link]
  • Licensing Executives Society (LES) will hold its Spring Meeting in New York May 4th -6th. The Keynote speaker will be David Kappos. Patently-O readers will receive a $200 discount by using promo code PO11. [Link]
  • The 3rd Annual Corporate IP Counsel Forum will be held May 24-25 in New York. The Corporate IP Counsel Summit is the premier forum to hear about solutions to maximize IP assets, avoid costly litigation, create and maintain efficient infrastructure, fully integrate IP strategies into business plans, prepare for anticipated patent law changes, and much more. Guest speakers include Michael Bishop, Mony Ghose, Mark Costello, Michael Springs, Charles Kwalwasser, and Timothy Wilson. Patently-O readers will receive a $100 discount by using promo code FZA884. [Link]

Contact Lawrence.Higgins@patentlyo.com with leads for future Bits and Bytes.

Patently-O Bits & Bytes by Lawrence Higgins

Patent,

Google Places a bid on Nortel Patents

  • Google has placed a $900 million cash offer bid for the rights to Nortel patents. Google’s bid is just the starting point, against which others bid prior to the auction that will take place in June. Nortel has about 6,000 patents and patent applications, which cover many areas of technologies including wireless, internet search, computer science, and online social networking. Nortel was once a telecom powerhouse, but filed for bankruptcy in 2009. As part of the bankruptcy, Nortel must auction off all patents that they hold. It has been reported that Google wants to purchase the Nortel patents as a defensive tactic, to decrease the amount of lawsuits filed against them. [link]

New Patent Blog!

  • Written Description is a blog that reviews recent scholarship on patent law, IP theory, and innovation. The blog is intended to provide useful content for law professors, law students, practitioners, and anyone else interested in patent law. The blog is written by Lisa Larrimore Ouellette, who has a Physics Ph.D. from Cornell and is a current 3L at Yale Law School.

Apple Doesn’t Have to Pay $625.5 Million in Patent Case

  • Apple was sued in 2008 by Mirror Worlds LLC; Mirror Worlds was founded by Yale University Professor David Gelernter. [Complaint] Mirror Worlds claimed that Apple’s Mac computers infringed its patents relating to the way documents are displayed on a computer. The main focus of the trial was Apple’s Spotlight and Time Machine technology. The case was decided in Mirror Worlds favor in October, and the jury award $625.5 million in damages. However, Apple appealed and a federal judge in Texas agreed with Apple and stated that, Apple did not infringe any patent owned by Mirror Worlds LLC and closed the case. [Link]

John Duffy to Join Virginia Law School

  • IP scholar John Duffy will be at the University of Virginia next fall, currently Duffy is a Professor at George Washington School of Law. Duffy has been named as one of the 25 most influential people in the field of IP by the American Lawyer. Duffy was co-counsel in the important Supreme Court case KSR v. Teleflex, which was the first Supreme Court Case in decades on the standard of nonobviousness. [Link]

Patent Jobs:

  • Muir Patent Consulting is seeking to hire a patent attorney with a degree in electrical engineering and 2-5 years experience. [Link]
  • Mannava & Kang is searching for a patent attorney or patent agent with a degree in electrical engineering and at least 3 years in preparing and prosecuting patent applications. [Link]
  • Roberts Mlotkowski Safran & Cole is looking for a patent attorney with 2-4 years experience and a chemical degree. [Link]
  • Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell and Berkowitz is searching for a patent attorney or patent agent with a PhD and 1-4 years patent experience. [Link]

Upcoming Events:

  • The 2nd Annual John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law Symposium will be held on April 15th. The symposium will discuss biotechnology and health-related issues in IP law. Guest speakers include Peter Yu, Lawrence Pope, and the keynote speaker Ananda Chakrabarty. [Link]
  • AIPLA Spring Meeting will be held May 12-14 in San Francisco. [Link]
  • San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Association (SFIPLA) will be hosting its spring seminar June 3-5 in Yountville, California. This event will discuss various topics, such as Copyright and the Cloud, Patent Year in Review, and Patent Litigation to name a few. Guest speakers include Peter Menell, Marc Greenberg, Madhavi Sunder, and David Franklyn. [Link]

Contact Lawrence.Higgins@patentlyo.com with leads for future Bits and Bytes.

Patently-O Bits & Bytes by Lawrence Higgins

Patent,

Google signs deal to Translate European Patents

  • The European Patent Office (EPO) and Google signed an agreement, in which the EPO will use Google's Translate technology to offer translation of patents on its website. The EPO will translate patents on its website into 28 European languages, as well as into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian. The partnership between the EPO and Google will enable free, real-time translation of millions of patents granted in European countries, China, Japan, Korea and Russia. [Link]

Monsanto sued over transgenic seeds

  • Farmers, agricultural organizations, seed businesses, and others filed suit against Monsanto over Monsanto's transgenic seed patents. The plaintiffs, led by the Public Patent Foundation, state that they brought suit to protect themselves from ever being accused of infringing patents on transgenic seeds, because contamination is bound to happen. [Link] Plaintiffs contend that since they have no intention to infringe they should not be sued for patent infringement if such contamination occurs. The plaintiffs claim that Monsanto's transgenic seed patents are not valid for several reasons. One reason being that Monsanto's transgenic seeds are injurious to the well being, good policy, and threatens to poison people. (Quoting Justice Story's 1817 Lowell decision). [Complaint]

U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) decides more patent cases

  • The ITC job is to settle disputes over imported products and in recent years the ITC has seen an increase in patent cases, particurly in mobile technology. Plaintiffs can file these suits even before the alleged infringement has occurred in the U.S., which can be a big incentive to keep the alleged infringing products out of the market. The increase can be seen as a consequence of the decision in eBay v. MercExchange, in which the court stated that an injunction should not automatically issue based on a finding of patent infringement, but a court must use the four factor analysis. This eBay decision does not have to be followed in ITC cases and therefore the ITC can grant an injunction based solely on the finding of patent infringement. [Link]

Patent Jobs:

  • Shay Gleen is searching for patent attorneys with either 1-2 years or 4-5 years patent prosecution experience. [Link]
  • Washida & Associates is looking for an electrical U.S. patent attorney for their Tokyo office. [Link]
  • McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff is seeking a patent agent with 2-4 years experience to work in their electrical arts group. [Link]
  • Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel is seeking a patent agent with a mechanical engineering background. [Link]

Upcoming Events:

  • The Florida Bar will hold its 2nd Annual Intellectual Property Symposium in Fort Lauderdale on April 14th & 15th. The symposium will take a look at the story behind the $21 Million Verdict in Powell vs. Home Depot, the Gene Patent Controversy, Licensing and Endorsements in Sports (and Entertainment), Intellectual Property Protection vs. The First Amendment and Bankruptcy. Guest speakers include Lori Andrews, Felix Wu, Ury Fischer, Chris Holman, and Robert Stoll. [Link]
  • American University Washington College of Law will host the first annual Global Congress on Public Interest Intellectual Property August 25-27 in Washington DC. The Global Congress on Public Interest Intellectual Property will serve as a site for the sharing of research, ideas and policy proposals for how international intellectual property law should be constructed to better protect the full range of global public interest concerns. [Link]
  • The 3rd Annual Corporate IP Counsel Forum will be held May 24-25 in New York. The Corporate IP Counsel Summit is the premier forum to hear about solutions to maximize IP assets, avoid costly litigation, create and maintain efficient infrastructure, fully integrate IP strategies into business plans, prepare for anticipated patent law changes, and much more. Guest speakers include Michael Bishop, Mony Ghose, Mark Costello, Michael Springs, Charles Kwalwasser, and Timothy Wilson. Patently-O readers will receive a $100 discount by using promo code FZA884. [Link]

Contact Lawrence.Higgins@patentlyo.com with leads for future Bits and Bytes.

Patently-O Bits & Bytes by Lawrence Higgins

Patent

USPTO willing to accommodate relief those affected by the events in Japan

  • David Kappos issued a statement on March 17th stating that the “USPTO considers the events in Japan on March 11th to be an extraordinary situation within the meaning of 37 CFR 1.183 and 37 CFR 2.146 for affected applicants, patentees, reexamination parties, and trademark owners.” What this means is that the USPTO can and will grant some waivers and extensions to applications and patents having 1 or more inventors, an assignee, or a correspondence address in areas of Japan affected by earthquake or tsunami. While the USPTO can grant some waivers and extensions, others cannot be granted by statute. For example, the USPTO cannot grant an extension for the 3 month time period to pay the issue fee set forth in 35 USC. Kappos listed 5 other situation that no waiver or extension can be given. [Link]

MasterObjects sues Google and Amazon for patent infringement

  • MasterObjects has filed suit against Google and Amazon for infringing patent # 7,752,326, which was issued in July 2010. Patent 326 “supposedly” claims technology that presents possible complete search terms as users’ type characters into the search bar. Amazon first used this technology in 2008 with the introduction of what they called “search suggestions”. Google started using the technology in 2010 with the introduction of “Google Instant”. [Amazon Complaint]

Chrysler sues over trademark

  • Chrysler is suing several businesses in Detroit for making shirts with the slogan “Imported From Detroit”. The USPTO’s website indicates that Chrysler submitted in application on February 8th for the mark to be used in retail and on-line retail stores featuring a wide range of merchandise, like clothing. However, Chrysler also submitted an application on January 18th to use the mark on clothing. Chrysler claims the businesses started using the mark after the Superbowl aired on February 6th, in which Chrysler 1st used the mark in a commercial. [Link]

Patent Jobs:

  • Rosenbaum & Silvert is looking for a patent attorney or agent with 3 years experience for their Chicago office. [Link]
  • Harness, Dickey, & Pierce is searching for an experienced patent attorney with an electrical engineering background to work in their St. Louis office. [Link]
  • Edell, Shapiro & Finnan is seeking a patent attorney with experience in the mechanical arts. [Link]
  • Perkins Coie is searching for a patent attorney or agent with 2-4 years experience to work at their Denver location. [Link]

Upcoming Events:

  • The Franklin Pierce Center for IP at the University of New Hampshire will hold its 1st Annual Intellectual Property Café on March 26th. Guest speakers include Gordon Smith, Kirsten Koespel, Peter McGovern, and Dr. Catherine McGovern. [Link]
  • The John Marshall Law School Center for Intellectual Property Law Distinguished Professor Presentation will be held on April 1st. The Presentation entitled, “Patent Litigation and the Internet” will be given by Professor John Allison. [Link]
  • Seton Hall Law will host a seminar, examining the state of intellectual property practice in challenging economic times on April 6th. Guest speakers include David Opderbeck, Colleen Tracy, and Frank Bruno. [Link]