Patent Law Practice Center

Patent Docs: IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2011

We are pleased to share the latest from our friends at PatentDocs.org, the Biotech and Pharma Patent Law and News Blog. The authors, Donald Zuhn and Kevin Noonan, are partners at McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff, LLP, and contribute to Patent Docs on a daily basis.

Today’s post is entitled, “IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2011,” and it reports on the Intellectual Property Owners Association’s recent annual list of the top 300 organizations receiving the most U.S. patents.  The article notes that the USPTO stopped releasing an annual list of top patent recipients so as to “discourag[e] any perception that we believe more is better.” It also takes a closer look at the role life sciences companies and organizations play as top patent holders on the IPO’s list. (more…)

USPTO Receives Comments on Patent Reexamination Proposals

Scott McKeown, Partner at Oblon Spivak and Practice Center Contributor, sent in this article discussing the proposals the USPTO is considering in it’s attempt to streamline patent reexamination.

USPTO Posts Public Comments on Patent Reexamination Streamline Proposals

As discussed [on Patents Post Grant] in significant detail over the past few months, the USPTO is considering various proposals in an attempt to streamline patent reexamination. Back in April, the USPTO published a collection of working concepts and initiatives in the Federal Register for the purpose of streamlining patent reexamination. Based upon public commentary, the USPTO will now begin the process of considering to implement/modify the various proposals via a formal rule-making process, or through internal policy changes. (a copy of the Federal Register Notice is found here). (more…)