Category: Patents

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USPTO must really really scrap its Entrust login system

For years and years I have been listing the many reasons why USPTO should have scrapped its Entrust login system many years ago.

Now there is yet another reason that USPTO must do this.  The USPTO’s Entrust login system relies upon the use of Java from Oracle.  And Oracle has made this announcement:

Public updates for Oracle Java SE 8 released after January 2019 will not be available for business, commercial or production use without a commercial license.

I gather the license fee will be $2.50 per user per month.

I fear that USPTO’s way of dealing with this development will be to spend (applicants’) money buying a commercial license from Oracle to cover all users of the Entrust login system.

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Why would anyone convert a US provisional application to a non-provisional?

There is a procedure for converting a US provisional patent application into a non-provisional patent application.  The practitioner who follows this procedure (instead of simply filing a non-provisional with a domestic benefit claim) will put the client in the position of incurring an extra government fee and losing some patent term.

So why would anyone ever carry out this procedure?  There is a real-life situation where this might be the clever thing to do, as I learned the other day from a smart member of the EFS-Web listserv.

Continue reading “Why would anyone convert a US provisional application to a non-provisional?”

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Patent grace periods around the world

It’s a sort of sad discussion topic, but it comes up in the Internet discussion groups every few months.  Here’s an example:

Do any of you know of countries outside the US that have a “grace period” after a public disclosure of an invention for filing a patent application in the country directed to the invention?

Sad because one wishes that the would-be inventor had consulted competent counsel before permitting the public disclosure to occur.

So, what’s the answer?  Wouldn’t it be nice if, all in once place, somebody has compiled a list of countries with grace periods? Continue reading “Patent grace periods around the world”

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Getting a Super Patent

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Imagine you are counsel representing a patent owner in an infringement case.  Suppose you can say to the judge and jury:

Ladies and gentlemen, you have heard my learned opponent invite you to consider whether perhaps this patent should never have been granted because of prior art that was overlooked.  But you might be interested to know that during the time that this patent application was pending, prior art searching was carried out by not one, not two, not three, not four, but five patent offices.  The Examiners in these five patent offices were fluent in the Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese and Korean languages.  Before the claims were found to be patentable, these Examiners shared with each other the prior art that they found.  The Examiners from these five patent offices shared their thoughts as to whether the claims were patentable in view of the prior art that was found.  Only after all of these things took place did the patent office decide to grant a patent.  And this is the patent before you now.

I’d call such a patent a Super Patent.  Yes under US law any patent is to be presumed valid, but I suggest such a patent would enjoy a much greater presumption of validity.  Would you like to learn how to get such a Super Patent? Continue reading “Getting a Super Patent”

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Pharma/biotech European patent claiming CLE free of charge!

I am delighted to be able to invite people to attend a pharma/biotech continuing legal education program.  This remarkable program lets you hear from an important person in the biotechnology part of the European Patent Office, Dr. Klaus-Peter Döpfer, and a very experienced patent practitioner in the pharma/biotech field, Ms. Sandra Pohlman.  They will talk about smart ways to draft patent applications with EPO subject matter eligibility in mind.   Continue reading “Pharma/biotech European patent claiming CLE free of charge!”