Patent Law Practice Center

Obama Administration Releases 3-Year IP Enforcement Plan

The Obama Administration released a joint strategic plan on intellectual property enforcement for fiscal years 2017 through 2019. The title of the report is Supporting Innovation, Creativity & Enterprise.

The section on patents, which begins on page 134, begins by saying:

Patent-intensive industries are a driving force in the U.S. economy. According to a recent Department of Commerce report, the value added by patent-intensive industries in 2014 was $881 billion, which was 5.1 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. Supporting efficient and predictable patent protection policies that promote investments in research and development is key to the continued growth of innovative economies.

Without effective mechanisms to protect intellectual property rights, including patents and trade secrets, competitors could simply sit back and copy, rather than invest the time and resources required to invent and innovate. Research and development would be even riskier investments, with little to no assurance that such investments would or could be commercially put into use. Simply put, facilitating efficient and predictable patent protection policies harnesses the drive and ingenuity of our innovators and helps ensure that our economy remains innovative and competitive.

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USPTO announces Post-Prosecution Pilot Program

Earlier this month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published a Notice in the Federal Register announcing a new pilot program for applications that have received a final rejection. The Post-Prosecution Pilot Program will run from July 11, 2016, through January 12, 2017, or until the Patent Office has accepted a total of 1,600 compliant requests, whichever occurs first.

According to the Patent Office, this Post-Prosecution Pilot Program responds to stakeholder input gathered during public forums held in support of the Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative. The goal is to provide another opportunity for applicants and examiners to attempt to resolve disputes without requiring an appeal or the filing of a Request for Continued Examination (RCE).

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On the Record with Patent Commissioner Drew Hirshfeld

On July 30, 2015, Drew Hirshfeld was sworn in as the new Commissioner for Patents. Prior to taking the helm of patent operations as Commissioner for Patents, Hirshfeld served as Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy. Even before assuming the position of Deputy Commissioner, Hirshfeld was no stranger to senior management, having served two years as the USPTO Chief of Staff for David Kappos. He also served as a Supervisory Patent Examiner as well as a Group Director of Technology Center 2100, overseeing Computer Networking and Database workgroups.

I spoke with Hirshfeld on the record on August 10, 2015. What follows are some of the highlights of the interview. For more please see the complete transcript of our interview.

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Patent Law Institute Live Blog: Patent Quality and Cost-Effectiveness – Views from In-House

The Patent Law Institute live blog continues with coverage of the panel, “Patent Quality and Cost-Effectiveness: Views from In-House”. This panel’s featured panelists are Valerie Calloway, Serena Farquharson-Torres, and David M. Shofi. Together they share the in-house perspective on the strategies for enhancing the quality of a portfolio, and the strategic use of a portfolio to deter patent threats. Here are  the highlights: (more…)

Current Developments in the Trilateral Patent Offices

James M. Heintz, a partner in the Intellectual Property and Technology practice group at DLA Piper, sent in this article discussing patent harmonization among the European Patent Office, the Japanese Patent Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

In an informative discussion in Washington, DC , the heads of the three trilateral patent offices provided insight into the direction they are heading and summarized recent developments in the three offices.

The Honorable Benoit Battistelli, president of the European Patent Office, the Honorable Yoshiyuki Iwai, commissioner of the Japanese Patent Office, and the Honorable David J. Kappos, director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, met in late 2010 in a session sponsored by the Intellectual Property Owners Association.

President Battistelli began his remarks by expressing his surprise that more applicants were not using the EPO’s fasttrack procedure (also referred to as the Patent Prosecution Highway). President Battistelli pointed out that fast-track requests comprised only 7 percent of EPO applications in the last year (16 percent of which were applications originating from the US), despite the fact that requesting fast-track treatment does not require any fees and the request is simple. He also noted the need to raise the bar for greater legal certainty that patents issued by the EPO would be enforceable. Finally, President Battistelli reiterated his support for European patents and centralized litigation. (more…)