Category: Patents

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USPTO failed to go to Capitol Hill about the massive system crash

It will be recalled that USPTO had a massive systems crash on December 22, 2015 which shut down every one of USPTO’s external-facing e-commerce systems, including the EFS-Web system for filing of patent applications and the TEAS system for filing of trademark applications.

On December 23, 2015 USPTO purported to “deem” December 22 and 23 to be holidays.  The next day, I pointed out (see blog article) that USPTO probably lacked the power to do this.  I said that the USPTO needed to head over to Capitol Hill to get a special bill passed which would cause December 22 and 23, 2015 to be real holidays (for purposes of the USPTO).

It was, of course, only a matter of time before the USPTO’s power to “deem” a day to be a federal holiday in the District of Columbia would be tested in litigation.  And now that day has come. Continue reading “USPTO failed to go to Capitol Hill about the massive system crash”

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Classes that I will be teaching

As you may see here, I will be teaching some classes about the Patent Cooperation Treaty in the next few months.  These include:

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The end of expensive law school casebooks?

I teach advanced patent prosecution as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver.  I hear from my students what it costs these days to buy a casebook for a class.  Some cost $150.  Some cost $200.  So I am delighted to see that there is some movement in the direction of reducing this cost for the student.  It comes from publishing-on-demand services such as Createspace and Lulu, as I will describe. Continue reading “The end of expensive law school casebooks?”

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WIPO PCT Seminar in Geneva in September

On September 26 and 27 (a Monday and a Tuesday), WIPO will conduct an advanced seminar on the Patent Cooperation Treaty.  To register and to find out more, click here.   Here is WIPO’s description of the seminar:

This PCT seminar is targeted towards patent administrators, paralegals and other users who are already familiar with the PCT System. This is a unique opportunity to learn more about the procedural details of the PCT system and some of the best filing and practice strategies, directly from PCT experts of the International Bureau of WIPO.  Prior completion of the introductory PCT distance learning course is highly recommended.

 

 

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Sign up now for the AIPLA PCT Seminar

The twentieth annual AIPLA PCT Seminar will take place July 25 and 26 (Monday and Tuesday) in Alexandria, Virginia.  It’s time to sign up if you have not already signed up.

This Seminar is different from other PCT programs in that it has not only official patent office presenters but also practitioners.  Among the presenters are a speaker from China and a speaker from Europe, and they will talk about how to draft a PCT patent application with China and Europe in mind.  They will also talk about the process of entry into the Chinese national phase and European regional phase.

Yours truly is among the presenters.

To register, or to find out more, click here.

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Why it is super-important to get a Power of Attorney filed in absolutely every patent file

Over in the patent practitioner’s listserv (see EFS-Web) a question came up the other day about managing customer numbers.  One list member pointed out that Private PAIR nowadays offers really handy file management functions.  The Private PAIR user can easily update and change customer numbers, for example.  But alert listserv member Jeffrey Wendt reminded us that these really handy file management functions are available only with respect to application files for which the user has filed a Power of Attorney (and has the good luck that the USPTO has recognized the Power of Attorney).  And in fact there are many reasons, not only this PAIR file-management reason, why it is very very important to get a POA filed in every one of your active files.  I will list some of these reasons. Continue reading “Why it is super-important to get a Power of Attorney filed in absolutely every patent file”