Category: Patents

Posted on

poorly worded USPTO announcement

click to enlarge

Yes, I realize the subject line doesn’t actually narrow things down very much, in the sense that many USPTO announcements are poorly worded in one way or another.  But this one is breathtaking in the extremity of its poor wording.  See if you can catch it:

Planned maintenance
Customer Interaction Platform Contact Center Transition
The USPTO will transition our contact centers to a new platform beginning at midnight ET on Monday, October 28 and ending at midnight ET on Tuesday, October 29.
Users may experience longer wait times during the transition period.

(emphasis in original.)  Continue reading “poorly worded USPTO announcement”

Posted on

Are you in the DC area?

Are you in the DC area?  Do you use the Patent Cooperation Treaty?  Have you not already signed up for the PCT Seminar that will take place this next Monday in Alexandria, Virginia?  If so, then cancel your plans for Monday and sign up for the PCT Seminar that will take place this next Monday in Alexandria, Virginia!

This is the best PCT seminar money can buy.  Except that it is free of charge.  The presenters include experts from WIPO.  I will also be among the presenters.

To learn more, and to register click here.

Posted on

Save the date! Live in-person PCT seminar in Alexandria, Virginia

(Update:  the registration link is now available – click here.)

There will be a live in-person PCT seminar in Alexandria, Virginia on Monday, October 28, 2024.  This seminar, mentioned in the recent WIPO PCT Newsletter, will be an all-day event.  WIPO will soon provide a registration link for the seminar.  For now, save the date in your calendar.  Be sure to subscribe to this blog, and be sure to subscribe to the PCT listserv, to hear about it when the registration link becomes available.

Posted on

After a ten-year run, AFCP comes to a close

There has always been a problem that some Examiners fish for unnecessary continuations and RCEs.  If an applicant can be teased into filing a continuation or an RCE, the Examiner picks up two more “counts”.

One of the USPTO’s initiatives to try to reduce this problem happened in 2013 — the After Final Consideration Program (AFCP).  Now after a ten-year run, the USPTO has announced (Federal Register notice) that it will discontinue AFCP.

During the ten years that AFCP was available, our firm used it many dozens of times.  I estimate that in perhaps 25% of cases, it did save us from having to file an otherwise unnecessary continuation or RCE.  Now with the AFCP initiative gone, we will surely face renewed levels of fishing for continuations and RCEs by some Examiners.

Posted on

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity CLE for patent and trademark attorneys

Colorado Rule 250.2(1)(a)(i) says that beginning January 1, 2023, every registered attorney must achieve at least two credit hours per reporting period in the area of equity, diversity, and inclusivity.

The Colorado office in charge of CLE lists three areas that are supposed to be covered in CLE courses about equity, diversity, and inclusivity, namely:

    • equal access to the legal system;
    • competent representation of diverse populations;
    • the recognition, mitigation, or elimination of bias in the legal profession or the legal system.

What may a patent attorney or trademark attorney do to respond in a meaningful way to licensure requirements regarding equity, diversity, and inclusivity?  In this webinar, join your presenter, Carl Oppedahl, in trying to figure out what the problems are, in such areas as patent and trademark prosecution, for which an EDI CLE requirement might be a solution.

When and where?  Thursday, September 5, 2024, Noon to 1:40 PM Mountain Time (100 minutes)

Format: Live webinar

For more information, or to register, click here.