Krishna Shastri Image

Krishna Shastri

is President of LexpertConsilium, India.

Recent Articles by Krishna Shastri

The USPTO’s New Guidelines on Prophetic and Working Examples in Patent Applications and Corresponding Practices in India and China

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) publishes a large number of notices in addition to guidelines for patent applicants. These guidelines are frequently updated, and it is critical to stay informed of those updates. On July 1, 2021, the USPTO published a notice in the Federal Register titled “Properly Presenting Prophetic and Working Examples in a Patent Publication.” In this notice, the USPTO defined prophetic and working examples, distinguished these concepts, and described their use and importance within patent applications. In contrast, this distinction is not made under Indian or Chinese law or practice. Furthermore, applicants are generally not required to provide prophetic or working examples, and the concept of prophetic examples is not recognized under Indian or Chinese patent law.