USPTO foot-dragging on implementation of ISA/JP

(Followup article has been posted.  Although the EBC did not know about it, there is a way to pay the ISA/JP fee in EFS-Web.)

Supposedly as of yesterday, PCT filers filing in RO/US were able to pick ISA/JP as their searching authority.  You can see the press release that says this.  And I blogged about this option back on June 19. But it looks like USPTO is dragging its feet on this. Continue reading “USPTO foot-dragging on implementation of ISA/JP”

Register now for AIPLA PCT Seminar later this month

Later this month are the AIPLA PCT Seminars.   You need to sign up if you have not already done so.  You can see the details here.  It’s Monday and Tuesday, the 20th and 21st, in San Francisco.  And it’s Thursday and Friday, the 23rd and 24th, in Alexandria, Virginia.

There are plenty of PCT seminars around, taught by people from USPTO and/or WIPO.  The way that the AIPLA PCT Seminars are different is that they have a seasoned faculty that includes speakers from USPTO and WIPO but also includes actual practitioners.  These people draw upon diverse backgrounds and provide an interactive discussion that teach things you won’t get anywhere else. Continue reading “Register now for AIPLA PCT Seminar later this month”

What’s the Best Practice for 92bis changes?

One of many nice things about the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) system is that you can do one-stop shopping for changes in the bibliographic data.  (In a somewhat similar way, the Madrid Protocol and Hague Agreement systems provide one-stop shopping for assignments and owner address changes.)  By filing a so-called Rule 92bis request, you can update the inventor list, the name of the applicant, and/or addresses and citizenships thereof.

When I say “one-stop shopping” I mean that you do the change once and it covers multiple countries or Offices around the world.  

But there are better and worse ways to carry out your 92bis request, and that’s the point of this blog posting.

Continue reading “What’s the Best Practice for 92bis changes?”

A reminder of an AIA trap for the unwary – “checking the box”

The America Invents Act took effect on September 16, 2012 and on March 16, 2013.  Well over two years ago.  So we don’t have to keep worrying about it nowadays, right?

Wrong, very wrong.  We have to worry about it now even more than ever.

Here’s one example for the practitioner who is asked by foreign counsel to enter the US national phase from a PCT application. Continue reading “A reminder of an AIA trap for the unwary – “checking the box””

Register now for AIPLA PCT Seminar in July

You will recall that last February I told you to save the date for the Nineteenth Annual AIPLA Patent Cooperation Treaty Seminars.  Registration is now open for the Seminars:

  • July 20 and 21 (Monday and Tuesday) in San Francisco
  • July 23 and 24 (Thursday and Friday) in Alexandria, Virginia

The AIPLA PCT Seminars are the best way to learn about the PCT and to bring yourself up to date about recent changes and developments in the PCT.

Registration for the Seminar also entitles you to attend a webinar, at no additional charge, on July 14.  The webinar is a PCT primer, providing an overview of the PCT system and the basics of filing a PCT application.

Continue reading “Register now for AIPLA PCT Seminar in July”