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I can’t exactly put my finger on it, but something about the previous blog post made me think of this card that I received today from United Airlines, showing that I have now reached “million mile” status.
This reminds me of that old joke about a pie-eating contest. “Second prize, you get to eat more pie. First prize, you don’t have to eat any more pie.”
Many readers may have followed with interest the news of a recently discovered triceratops fossil. I note that the dinosaur was found about seven miles east of the Westminster, Colorado office of Oppedahl Patent Law Firm LLC.
So far as I am aware there is no connection between these places other than mere geographic proximity.
At various times in the past, the USPTO has accumulated sizeable backlogs in its not-yet-handled PPH petitions. But these days USPTO has been keeping up quite well.
We try to track this pretty closely. The most recent half dozen PPH petitions that we filed at the USPTO were all acted upon at the USPTO within about six or seven weeks of filing.
Kudos to the USPTO for being timely these days with PPH petitions!
A couple of weeks ago I had the great honor to visit at WIPO with the heads of some of the PCT processing teams. These are the people at the International Bureau who interact with callers (applicants and patent practitioners) who have questions and problems relating to PCT. One of the things that they mentioned to me, that I found puzzling when I first heard it, is that in recent months they have received ever-increasing numbers of complaints from people who call to report that they try to send faxes to the International Bureau and are unable to do so. Upon reflection I now realize the likely cause of this problem. And it is definitely not that there is some recent malfunction in WIPO’s fax machines.
Continue reading “Why you probably can’t send international faxes any more”
We are all accustomed to using “ping” as a way to test Internet connectivity and to measure the latency of an Internet connection. This post talks about a similar function for telephones, a function that can be very helpful in testing the configuration of a VOIP (voice over IP) telephone. Continue reading ““Ping” for telephones”
There are quite a few upcoming opportunities to learn about the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
Of course a very good way to learn of upcoming learning opportunities about PCT is to check the PCT Seminar Calendar at the web site of WIPO. WIPO updates this calendar frequently.
Upcoming programs include:
Readers will recall (perhaps from my blog post of July 15) that the search fee for ISA/EP will increase (for US filers) on September 1, 2017. This offers an opportunity to save a little money. Continue reading “A chance to save a little money on PCT search fees”
On August 7, 2017, Thailand deposited its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol at the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization. The Madrid Protocol will thus enter into force for Thailand on November 7, 2017. Continue reading “Thailand joins Madrid Protocol”
The PCT rules and Applicant’s Guide talk about what should go into an Abstract. In the PCT system it is up to the International Searching Authority to enforce the rules about Abstracts. WIPO is inviting comments (see Circular PCT 1517) on whether the rules and guide should be revised. Such revisions, if they were to happen, would change what the ISA looks for when it reviews an Abstract.
Comments are due September 30, 2017. If you would like to participate in a listserv committee to prepare and file comments, join the PCT listserv (if you are not already a member) and join in the discussion there. What follows are a few thoughts about Abstracts. Continue reading “Does the Abstract matter any more?”