Those who regularly read IPWatchdog.com may remember that on August 25, 2008, I wrote that the United States Patent & Trademark Office had finally, once and for all put an end to invention scams thanks to the fact that they had adopted new rules that would significantly impact who can engage in the representation of clients before the USPTO on…

The United States Patent & Trademark Office finally posted on its website an announcement that the new appeals rules that were to go into effect today, December 10, 2008, have been held up and will not go into effect.  Here is the announcement on the Patent Office website: In the December 10, 2008 edition of the Federal Register, the USPTO…

Environmental friendly animal excrement collector US Patent No. 7,461,616 Issued December 9, 2008 Every once in a while I come across a patent that I know is going to become one of my all-time favorites, and this is certainly one of those patents.  This may be the most ingenious of all inventions and I would still want to include it…

On Monday, December 8, 2008, the Law, Science & Technology Program at Stanford Law School launched the Stanford Intellectual Property Litigation Clearinghouse (IPLC), a unique online database that offers comprehensive information about intellectual property disputes within the United States. This publicly available, online research tool will enable scholars, policymakers, lawyers, judges, and journalists to review real-time data about IP legal…

To quote Lee Corso of ESPN College Football Gameday fame — not so fast my friend!  The Office of Management & Budget (OMB) will not be able to complete its review of the Final USPTO Appeal Rules before they were to go into effect tomorrow, December 10, 2008, so OMB is forcing Jon Dudas and the Patent Office to delay implementation…

Anyone who has followed my writings over the past couple years knows that I have become increasingly critical of the political appointees who have been put in positions of authority at the Patent Office.  Nevertheless, I do want to be a part of the solution to the greatest extent possible.  With this in mind I have been writing about individuals…

Recently I was searching for some fun and exciting patent news to write about and I came across a press release put out by Research & Markets announcing that they have initiated coverage of Avon Products, Inc.  Curious due to the fact that my wife recently started selling Avon, I thought I might as well take a look to see…

In a statement delivered last week before the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ Advisory Committee of Genetics, Health and Society (SACGHS), the Association of Molecular Pathology (AMP) urged an end to the practice of granting patents on single genes, sequences of the genome or correlations between genetic variations and biological states. It is AMP’s position that  a single gene or…

The Wall Street Journal reported this weekend that in November the US economy lost over 500,000 jobs, the largest single month job loss since 1974.  So why would any branch of our government seek to assault one of the largest industries we have?  Lets face it, the banks and financial institutions are in horrendous shape, the US auto makers have…

I am sitting in a Starbucks just outside the District of Columbia, across the river in Virginia.  I attended the oral arguments this morning at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit regarding the matter of the United States Patent & Trademark Office v. Tafas, the appeal of the claims and continuations rules promulgated by the USPTO…

On Monday, December 2, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision affirming in part the district court’s ruling in the patent dispute between Broadcomm and Qualcomm.  See Qualcomm Inc. v. Broadcom Corp.  The patent infringement case involved the consequence of silence in the face of a duty to disclose patents in a standards-setting organization.…

Tomorrow, December 5, 2008 at 10:00am the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hold oral arguments regarding the appeal by the United States Patent & Trademark Office of the ruling issued by Judge Cacheris of the Eastern District of Virginia, which permanently enjoined the claims and continuations rules from going into effect.  You will probably recall…

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hold oral arguments in the case between the United States Patent & Trademark Office and Dr. Tafas and GlaxoSmithKline on Friday, December 5, 2008 at 10am.  I have followed this case since the very beginning and will be in attendance in the gallery to hear the arguments.  I plan…

QUESTION: I have a few ideas that I think could really be a success. I started researching “how to patent an idea” but have been bombarded with information.  I have no clue where to start, and I have only a limited budget. What should be my first step? ANSWER: Your question is one I get a lot.  The patent process can be complex…

Carry-out food container US Patent No. 7,451,889 Issued November 18, 2008 Did you know that on Tuesday, November 18, 2008, a carry out food container was patented? I discussed this patent in a post last week titled Unequal Treatment at the US Patent Office, where I discussed the unfair and inequal treatment that seems to be plaguing the Patent Office.  After…