The extent to which the existence of a patent system will promote “the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to … inventors the exclusive rights to their … discoveries” depends on whether patent applications are examined in an unbiased manner and without undue delay. Some patent applicants and some patent practitioners have been fortunate and have generally observed reasonable timeliness and action by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Others have had a very different experience with the agency. Documents from a pending case at the Federal Court in the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) illustrate one of those circumstances. The story outlined in this case may help shape patent practitioners’ and applicants’ strategies with respect to monitoring for unreasonable examination behaviors and identifying strategies to confront any such situations—both with respect to individual patent applications and to policy-level approaches.
Recent Posts
- CAFC Finds IPR Petitioner Did Not Rely on AAPA as Basis for Obviousness Grounds in Affirming PTAB Invalidation
- Foreign Price Controls: A Risk to U.S. Medical Innovation and Patient Access
- Other Barks & Bites for Friday, July 11: EGC Affirms Annulment of Rubik’s Cube Marks; Sysco Trade Secret Case Dismissal Affirmed by Fourth Circuit; and EU Advocate General Finds Member States Can Impose Measures to Protect News Content on Meta Platforms
- EU Publishes Code of Practice as Deadline for AI Act’s Provisions on General-Purpose AI Models Nears
- Will the Federal Circuit Finally Follow Supreme Court Holdings on the Unavailability of the Laches Defense?