U.S.P.T.O.

Effective December 1, 2018, electronic retrieval of priority documents between the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) will be managed via the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Digital Access Service (DAS), in accordance with the WIPO DAS agreement established on April 20, 2009. The certified copy requirement is considered satisfied when a foreign priority document is retrieved electronically via the WIPO DAS service during pendency of the U.S. application. There is no fee for this service and participation for a particular application is voluntary.

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross today announced the appointment of Laura Peter as deputy under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and deputy director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), effective November 13, 2018.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published a Request for Comments (RFC) about a proposed procedure for motions to amend filed in inter partes reviews, post-grant reviews, and covered business method patent reviews (collectively AIA trials) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).  In essence, the proposal includes:  providing the parties with the Board’s initial assessment of the proposed amendment early in the process; providing meaningful opportunity to revise, and oppose, proposed amendments; and ensuring that the amendment process concludes within the 12-month statutory timeline. The proposal is based upon six years of experience conducting AIA trials during which time more than 350 motions to amend have been filed.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to set or adjust certain patent fees, as authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA). The proposed fees are projected to recover the aggregate estimated cost of the USPTO’s patent operations, Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) operations, and administrative services. The Office welcomes comments on both the individual patent fee proposals and the rulemaking goals and objectives. The Office will consider and respond to all comments received, during the public comment period, in the final rule, which the Office expects to publish in 2017.

USPTO is giving four awards and two honorable mentions in the 2016 Patents for Humanity awards. Award recipients receive public recognition at an award ceremony arranged by the USPTO. They also receive a certificate to accelerate certain matters before the Office. Honorable mentions go to applicants who were close to qualifying for top honors and may apply again in future years with further development of their technology. They receive a limited acceleration benefit.