On June 8, 2022, Senators Leahy, Blumenthal, Klobuchar, Cornyn, Collins and Braun sent a letter to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director Kathi Vidal expressing concern about so-called “patent thickets” and requesting that she consider changes to the USPTO regulations and practices to address perceived problems with patent examination. The senators asked the USPTO to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (which presumably must include new draft regulations) or at a minimum, a public request for comments followed by regulatory action, to address their concern about “the prevalence of continuation and other highly similar patents”.
Litigation
- U.S. Government Sides with Teva in Skinny Label SCOTUS Fight
- What I’ll Be Watching for in the Amgen Oral Arguments
- A Dog’s Day in Court: Implications of the ‘Bad Spaniels’ Arguments on Parody Determinations and Noncommercial Use
- SCOTUS Skeptical that Bad Spaniels is Parody, But Questions Need to Overturn Rogers
- Justices Seek Abitron Parties’ Help in Articulating Bounds of Extraterritorial Application of Lanham Act
Recent Posts
- Other Barks & Bites for Friday, March 31: Japan Restricts Chip-Making Exports, Ocado Scores UK High Court Win in Robotic Warehousing Case, and Judge Rejects Fair Use Defense for Internet Archive
- U.S. Government Sides with Teva in Skinny Label SCOTUS Fight
- Industry, NGOs Spar Over Need to Extend TRIPS COVID IP Waiver at ITC Hearing
- Software-Related U.S. Patent Grants in 2022 Remained Steady While Chinese Software Patents Rose 8%
- The Truth Leaks Out: Justices Struggle with the Science, Sanofi Welcomes End to Functional Genus Claims in Amgen Oral Arguments