Today we continue our weekly installment highlighting the best of the patent blogosphere from the past week. If there are any patent blogs you think should be highlighted by our Top 5, please comment on this post and we’ll check them out.
1) IP Watchdog: Making it Easier to Get a Patent – Guest author, Mark Nowotarski, shares the experience he has had in getting patent applications granted in this post. He notes that certain technology classes are harder to get a patent awarded in. As such, he explains how one can see if a technology class is getting easier or harder by plotting the patent filing dates in that class versus patent issue dates.
2) Patently-O: Kimberly-Clark v. Naty: Did Reexamination Clean the Diaper? – This post discusses how Kimberly-Clark has sued Naty Babycare for infringement of a diaper with an “elastomeric ear” having non-parallel edges. In 2010, an ex parte reexamination was begun and KC cancelled all 30 issued claims but then added an additional four claims. Unfortunately for Naty, the patent still has one year on its term.
3) Spicy IP: Breaking News: India’s First Compulsory License Granted! – As the Patent Law Practice Center reported, India granted its first compulsory license for a patented cancer drug. This post on Spicy IP provides the text of the actual Indian law governing the matter and delves into the impact of the decision.
4) Green Patent Blog: With Pilot Past, How to Get Green Patents Fast – This post provides tips for accelerated examination for green patents in the USPTO as the Office’s Green Technology Pilot Program is now history. Suggestions include the Track One Prioritized Examination procedure, which is a new procedure at the PTO, and the Accelerated Examination program.
5) Patent Docs: A Glimpse under the Hood: How the USPTO Proposes to Adjust Patent Fees– This post explains how the USPTO has dealt with their new authority to “set or adjust by rule any fee established, authorized, or charged under title 35, United States Code, or the Trademark Act of 1946, for any services performed by or materials furnished by, the Office”. The post also shares the goals fee setting intends to accomplish: accelerate the Office’s progress in reducing the backlog of unexamined patent applications and reducing patent application pendency to bring more quality products to market within the time frames demanded by patent applicants and owners and the public, realign the fee structure to add processing options during patent application prosecution, and put the Office on a path to financial sustainability.
Tags: accelerated patent examination, compulsory license, green patents, India, Patent Issues, Patent Reexamination, USPTO
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