May 30: Good looking upcoming seminar on Examiner Interviews being held simultaneously in DC (live), NYC, Chicago and Boston. Cost is only $25 for Patently-O readers who use the code NLC530 and includes lunch. [LINK] Speakers are Kevin Greenleaf (Schwegman), Kurt Mueller (PTO), and Ryan Smith (Larkin Hoffman). The event is primarily sponsored by the new lawyers committee of the AIPLA.
All indications are that interviews with patent examiners can make a huge difference in claim allowances. I hope that they become a more common part of the process for patent seekers.
LOL, I read that last part 3 times before I got it. I’m a little slow on a Friday afternoon. Yes, AB makes honey. =)
AB: Don’t talk down to the examiner or adopt a contentious attitude.
That’s what I (another non-examiner) have been saying and doing for years. You catch more flies with honey. And honey starts with AB.
Rule #1: Don’t talk down to the examiner or adopt a contentious attitude. Even if you feel the rejections are downright silly.
This is a non-adversarial process, that does not require the examiner to give up his own, personal property right in order to secure that of your client. Here, you have an opportunity to educate an overburdened examiner about the relevant subject matter and then to distinguish your invention from the cited references.
Think of it as: together you are both trying to arrive at the broadest allowable claim scope. That doesn’t mean you have to cave and give up scope unnecessarily, but you should attempt to have a “let’s work together attitude.” It works well for me much of the time.
I’m not an examiner.
Having read usptoexaminer.com for a while I guess quite a few war stories will be told of interviews gone mad.
I have had a few myself, wonder how frequent these are.
Insist on having an in-person interview. The office needs to stop this hoteling mess. And in many instances, bring a translator.
Thank you for sharing this post. Actually I am looking for this types of information. Brilliant post again thanks to admin
or at least get a transcript later
Will it be possible for practitioners elsewhere to Skype in to the talk, or otherwise hear the lectures / see the presentations, even if not online?
Thanks for the mention, Prof. Crouch. I am looking forward to keying in on reexamination-specific tips—perhaps an intro to Examiner Interviews 105.
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