Category: Patents

Posted on

It is time to send in your numbers for the 2020 Tote Boards

The results are posted.  See the tote board results.

I am grateful to the many loyal readers who have gently reminded me that I need to organize the 2020 Tote Boards.  You can see the past Tote Boards here.  These Tote Boards are part of a tradition that extends back to 2012 when I published the first Design Patent Tote Board.  Please send in your numbers now. We will close the entries in two weeks, that is, on Friday, April 2, 2021.  Here are the four Tote Boards for which your numbers are needed.

2020 US Plant Patent Tote Board.  This will be the second annual plant patent toteboard.  This is for granted US plant patents with issue dates falling in the range of January 7, 2020 to December 29, 2020.  About 1398 US plant patents issued in 2020.  How many of them have your firm name on the front page?  A typical search string in the USPTO patents full-text database for plant patents might be:

APT/6 AND ISD/2020 and (lrep/oppedahl or lrep/oppendahl)

To send in your numbers for US plant patents, click here.  We will close the entries in two weeks, that is, on April 2, 2021.   

2020 US Design Patent Tote Board.  This will be the ninth annual design patent toteboard.  This is for granted US design patents with issue dates falling in the range of January 7, 2020 to December 29, 2020.  About 34876 US design patents issued in 2020.  How many of them have your firm name on the front page?  A typical search string in the USPTO patents full-text database for design patents might be:

APT/4 AND ISD/2020 and (lrep/oppedahl or lrep/oppendahl)

To send in your numbers for US design patents, click here.  We will close the entries in two weeks, that is, on April 2, 2021. 

2020 US Utility Patent Tote Board.  This will be the sixth annual utility patent toteboard.  This is for granted US utility patents with issue dates falling in the range of January 7, 2020 to December 29, 2020.  About 352000 US utility patents issued in 2020.  How many of them have your firm name on the front page?  Yes you may include granted reissues in this total if you wish.  A typical search string in the USPTO patents full-text database for utility patents might be:

APT/1 AND ISD/2020 and (lrep/oppedahl or lrep/oppendahl)

To send in your numbers for US utility patents, click here.  We will close the entries in two weeks, that is, on April 2, 2021. 

2020 US Trademark Registration Tote Board.  This will be the sixth annual trademark toteboard.  This is for granted US trademark registrations with issue dates falling in the range of January 7, 2020 to December 29, 2020.  About 283386 US trademark registrations issued in 2020.  How many of them did your firm prosecute to registration?  (It is not necessary that your firm filed the application, merely that your firm prosecuted the case to registration.)

To send in your numbers for US trademark registration certificates, click here.  We will close the entries in two weeks, that is, on April 2, 2021. 

Posted on

what is USPTO’s series code 90?

Series codes are very important.  Anybody who regularly practices before the USPTO has more or less memorized the most commonly encountered series codes in his or her own daily work.  If you see series code 62, you know it is a provisional application.  If you see series code 29, you know it is a design application.   Series code 91 means oppositions before the TTAB.  Series code 92 means cancellation proceedings before the TTAB.  Every now and then, a series code gets “used up” meaning that serial number “999,999” is reached in the series code, and then things roll over into a new and different series code.  Provisionals, for example, used to be in series code 61 and before that they were in series code 60.

For over fifty years, for as long as there have been series codes at all, the trademark folks and the patent folks have carefully avoided ever using the same series code for different things.  Now it seems that this past practice has been ignored.  As far as I can see, this is a big mistake at the USPTO.  Continue reading “what is USPTO’s series code 90?”

Posted on

Why EPO validations cost as much money as they do

When an applicant in the EPO gets the good news that the applicant is going to receive an EP patent, one of the things that happens next is that the EP patent has to be “validated” in the one or more countries in the EPO area where protection is desired.  This costs some money and takes some time.  

In the EFS-Web listserv (a discussion group for US patent practitioners) the question came up why EPO validations cost as much money as they do, and why a rush fee might be imposed by an EPO validation service provider if instructions were given at the last minute.  Indeed one might ask why there is an EP validation process at all?  What is the problem for which an EP validation process is the solution?  These questions prompted me to write this blog article. Continue reading “Why EPO validations cost as much money as they do”

Posted on

Why you suddenly cannot log in at the USPTO since Saturday

click to enlarge

Here is why you suddenly cannot log in at the USPTO since Saturday.

Two people at the USPTO screwed up.  One of the people who screwed up did it yesterday, Saturday, March 6, 2021.  The other person who screwed up did it a couple of years ago, and that screwup only came into prominent view yesterday.  The screwups relate to what USPTO calls “authenticator app” two-factor authentication.  The screwups affect most trademark practitioners who practice before the USPTO, and they affect most patent practitioners who practice before the USPTO, and they affect most paralegals and administrative assistants who work with those patent practitioners.  Briefly, you need to delete your old “authenticator app” setup and you need to create a new “authenticator app” setup.  Here are the details.  Continue reading “Why you suddenly cannot log in at the USPTO since Saturday”

Posted on

New leadership at the USPTO

click to enlarge

One of the responsibilities of the Director of the USPTO, carried out every Tuesday, is the signing of US patents and US trademark registration certificates.  On Tuesday, January 19, 2021, Director Andrei Iancu’s signature was placed upon 5414 trademark registration certificates and 4605 patents.  One of the trademark registration certificates appears at right, and I have highlighted his signature which appears just below the gold seal.

The following day, January 20, 2021, Mr. Iancu ceased to be the Director.  Now the person performing the functions and duties of the Director is Drew Hershfeld, the Commissioner for Patents.  I expect that this coming Tuesday, January 26, it will be Mr. Hirschfeld’s signature that will be placed upon the patents and the registration certificates.

Posted on

Today is the day! Mexican Institute of Industrial Property joins DAS

As I reported to you (blog article) on September 15, 2020, today is the day that the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property joins DAS.  It is both a Depositing Office and an Accessing Office.

Once again I note that the logo for IMPI is a Möbius strip!  

IMPI is a Depositing Office for:

  • patent applications
  • utility model applications
  • industrial design applications

In addition, RO/MX is a Depositing Office for purposes of PCT applications filed in RO/MX.

This offers a reminder that Mexico is one of the seventy-six Offices that provides utility model protection.

IMPI is an Accessing Office for:

  • international design applications (Hague applications) filed at the IB
  • industrial design applications
  • patent applications
  • utility model applications

Which intellectual property firm in Mexico is the most trendy, modern, and up-to-date?   Send me four DAS access codes:

  • a DAS access code for a Mexican patent application
  • a DAS access code for a Mexican utility model application
  • a DAS access code for a Mexican industrial design application, and
  • a DAS access code for a PCT application filed in RO/MX. 

I can then post Certificates of Availability (with a few digits of the application numbers blurred) for those four applications, and I will then be able to recognize your firm as the most trendy, modern and up-to-date intellectual property firm in Mexico.

Posted on

Filing at the International Bureau and Daylight Saving Time

It’s that time of year again.  The time of year when it is important to keep track of the fact that Daylight Saving Time is different in Switzerland from the way it is in the United States.  This is important because you might be in the US, and you might be e-filing (or fax-filing) some document with the International Bureau of WIPO.  Continue reading “Filing at the International Bureau and Daylight Saving Time”