There’s a discussion over in the EFS-Web listserv (the listserv for patent practitioners) about the best way to create a PDF so that it won’t unnecessarily reveal metadata. The answer for Windows users is of course to use CutePDF to create the PDF. Which then led to the question of the extent to which USPTO strips out metadata in which case maybe the filer can be lax about this. What is the answer? Continue reading “Extent to which metadata in PDF Documents filed in EFS-Web can be seen later?”
What it costs to get a US patent fast by making it “special” (age or health of inventor)?
When I was first in practice, there were a dozen ways to get a US patent application made “special”. Just to give a few examples, you could explain that a would-be investor needs to know whether a particular invention is patentable before constructing a factory. You could explain that you have found someone who infringes a claim of a patent application. You could point out that your subject matter would promote national security or fight terrorism or benefit the environment. You could establish that one of the inventors is in such poor health that the inventor might not live long enough to assist in the prosecution of the application. You could establish that one of the inventors is 65 years of age or older.
A few years ago the USPTO decided to pare down the list of ways to get a patent application made “special”. The list of ways is now very short. In this blog post I will talk about two of the remaining ways, namely:
- special based upon age of the inventor, and
- special based upon poor health of the inventor.
What might the practitioner charge for making a case special on either of these grounds?
Korean PCT search fee to drop on October 1
The fee for a US PCT filer to choose the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) as an International Searching Authority (ISA) is presently $1219. On October 1, 2015 it will drop to $1125. Continue reading “Korean PCT search fee to drop on October 1”
What it costs to get a US patent fast by Accelerated Examination?
Yesterday I blogged about what it might cost to get a US patent fast by means of Track I. Today I offer a few thoughts about what it might cost to get a US patent fast by means of AE (Accelerated Examination).
Continue reading “What it costs to get a US patent fast by Accelerated Examination?”
What it costs to get a US patent fast via Track I?
A long-standing member of the EFS-Web listserv (the listserv for US patent practitioners) wondered what to charge for a Track I request. (Track I is the program in which the US applicant can get his or her application moved to the front of the line for examination merely by paying a fee.) I figured I might as well post a series of blog pieces with a few thoughts about professional fees for the various programs by which an applicant can get a US patent fast.
Continue reading “What it costs to get a US patent fast via Track I?”
Algeria joins Madrid Protocol
This is a very important milestone for the Madrid Protocol.
More DRM frustrations — Ultraviolet movies
Some months ago I griped about ham-fisted DRM systems from Amazon and Microsoft. Now I will gripe about a ham-fisted DRM sy
stem from Ultraviolet, the movie viewing system that supposedly lets me “watch it anywhere!” and supposedly lets me “instantly stream & download” to my “tablet”. I finally got it to work, but only after about an hour and a half of struggle. The advertising claim of “instantly” downloading was quite false. Continue reading “More DRM frustrations — Ultraviolet movies”
Filing a PCT application at the USPTO with no US applicants?
A member of the PCT listserv asked:
On a US application filed yesterday with non-US inventors (no US assignee) and a PCT filing deadline of today, we filed through the USPTO and got a PCT application number, we just could not upload it as a PCT-Safe Zip file. The USPTO PCT Helpline said it was okay to file through the USPTO, just a $240 transmittal charge. We uploaded the PCT-101 request as a separate document. Will this be enough to secure a PCT filing date?
The answer is “maybe yes”, depending on the detailed situation. Continue reading “Filing a PCT application at the USPTO with no US applicants?”
Maximizing patent term (was “certified copy needed?”)
A member of the EFS-Web listserv, an email discussion group for patent practitioners, posed this question:
We filed a US continuation application claiming priority to a PCT application filed in the EP receiving office. (The PCT application had no priority claim.) We filed the application by the 12-month convention deadline at the client’s request.
I do not think we need to provide a certified copy of the PCT, but can anyone confirm?
The question as presented turns out to be easy to answer — no, if you don’t want to provide a certified copy, you could avoid having to do so. But it would be at the cost of a year of patent term. The real question is “how may I avoid flushing a year of patent term down the drain?” Continue reading “Maximizing patent term (was “certified copy needed?”)”
Yet another kind of “walking corpse” US patent
(This article is a duplicate of a previous article.)