Category: PCT

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Followup to “Four Consecutive Fridays”

(There is a followup posting.)

On January 26 I blogged here about the earthquake that happened on January 15, in which the Swiss Franc jumped some 30% in value.  I talked about how this earthquake affected the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva.  I mentioned that the legacy approach to currency exchange rate shifts entailed a time lag of as much as three or four months, a time lag that would cost WIPO some millions of dollars.  I mentioned that the various patent offices around the world, in their role as PCT Receiving Offices, might or might not choose to accommodate WIPO by implementing new fee amounts sooner.  I wrote to USPTO and to EPO to urge them to accommodate WIPO in this way.  Here’s what I heard back from those patent offices …

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The importance of warning clients about unscrupulous fee requests

We all need to redouble our efforts to warn clients about unscrupulous fee requests.  Four recent examples reminded me how insidious these fee requests can be.  The first one asks me to wire $2322.30 to a bank in Slovakia.  The second one asks me to wire $2738 to a bank in Czech Republic.  The third one asks me to wire $2548.25 (where do they get these amounts?) to a bank in Slovakia.  And the fourth asks me to wire $2327 to a bank in Czech Republic.

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ISA/KR goes TMU

kipoThose who have heard me lecture about the Patent Cooperation Treaty are familiar with my tag line “trendy, modern, and up-to-date” (TMU).  The idea of course is that we all surely do want to be TMU when serving clients.  Using ePCT for example to administer our PCT applications.  Well, I am delighted to report that the Korean patent office, in its role as an International Searching Authority, is moving in the direction of being trendy, modern, and up-to-date.  How so, you may ask?

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$7M judgment against patent law firm

In an order dated October 8, 2014, the US district court in Brooklyn has rendered a judgment of about $7 million against a Virginia patent law firm.  The award is tied to an allegation that the firm failed to pursue US patent rights for a client despite undertaking to do so.

There was a box that could have been checked on a patent office form, that might well have kept this lawsuit from happening had it been checked.

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For those entering the US national phase on and after September 16, 2014 … recall the “check the box” problem

We all recall the nightmare of having to figure out whether or not to “check the box”.  You know the box that I am talking about:

ctb

Well, a nice member of our PCT listserv pointed out today that September 16, 2014 is an interesting day for the “check the box” problem.  I wonder how many readers of this blog already know why this is?

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Make plans to attend “PCT at the EPO”

As a reminder, the European Patent Office will present “PCT at the EPO”, a two-day educational program.  This will be Wednesday and Thepoursday, October 1 and 2 at the EPO office at the Hague.  One session is “National Phase at the USPTO”.  The speakers for that session will be Michael Neas of the USPTO and myself.

This is a unique educational program with a faculty composed of patent office presenters and private practitioners.

The first day of the event will conclude with a panel discussion on key developments in the PCT (I am one of the panel members), followed by a cocktail reception and a networking dinner.

To find out more about this two-day program, or to register, click here.