About two months ago I launched this blog. It took me a while, but now I have picked a name for the blog. The alert reader will recall Learned Hand’s (perhaps backhanded) compliment to patent practitioners, citing their “ant-like persistence” (Lyon v. Boh, 1 F.2d 48, 50 (S.D.N.Y.1924). With a nod to those patent practitioners who at the start of the twentieth century exhibited the ant-like persistence that inspired Learned Hand to write this colorful phrase, I hereby dub this the “Ant-like Persistence” blog.
Supreme Court on patent attorneys fees
Today the Supreme Court published two opinions, each dealing with attorneys’ fees in patent cases. See Highmark Inc. v. Allcare Health Management System, Inc. and Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc.
Why not allocate USPTO examiner resources intelligently?
USPTO’s present practice is to try to make patent examiners examine cases pretty much in sequence according to their filing date. The oldest case gets examined first, more or less. (There are of course exceptions for example for cases that are on the Patent Prosecution Highway.) I suggest this is not the smartest way for USPTO to allocate its examination resources.
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“PCT at the EPO” – important conference in October at The Hague
This October the European Patent Office will offer a two-day educational conference PCT at the EPO 2014. To learn more, and to register, go to the brochure page. This conference will take place at The Hague.
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PPH? Why not use Track I?
The EFS-Web listserv is for patent practitioners before the USPTO. A recent series of postings prompted me to offer a reminder of the potential benefits of PCT-PPH, and prompted a list member to ask:
If you are going to pay the cost of filing a PCT, why not just file TRACK I?
Here are my suggestions why I recommend not using Track I.
Intellectual property in pop culture — “Silicon Valley” on HBO
Today the followers of the HBO series Silicon Valley (yes, me among them) saw the third episode. In this episode, we encounter at least two intellectual property issues.
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When will the Board decide my patent appeal?
It’s been a while since I looked at the statistics of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to try to guess when the Board might get around to deciding an appeal. Here’s how it looks these days.
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A little-known USPTO initiative to reduce the backlog
As we all know, USPTO has set up many initiatives in recent years to try to reduce the 
backlog of unexamined patent applications. Many practitioners are familiar with most of these initiatives. It seems, however, that very few patent practitioners are aware of an initiative announced recently by the USPTO. The initiative, called QDPP or “Quick Disposal Pilot Program”, will essentially instantly eliminate approximately two percent of the backlog, and should lead to some applications being allowed very quickly.
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Three more reasons why you should use ePCT
In previous postings I have mentioned reasons why filers should use ePCT, WIPO’s system that lets you see the status and content of your pending PCT applications. Here are three more reasons.
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For those filing at WIPO, a time zone change
The US and Europe do not agree on when to start and when to stop Daylight Saving Time. The US started DST on March 9, 2014, and Europe started DST today, March 30. This is important for US filers who file things at WIPO.
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