PCT – Page 38 – Ant-Like Persistence

July 12, 2014

Sign up before July 16 for the 18th annual AIPLA PCT Seminar

It’s July again, which means it is time for another AIPLA PCT Seminar. This will be the 18th annual offering of the Seminar. The Seminar will take place in Denver, Colorado on Monday and Tuesday July 21 and 22, and it will be offered a second time in Arlington, Virginia on Thursday and Friday July 24 and 25. I will be among the faculty of this Seminar. If the Seminar will take place a week from now, why is it so important to sign up before July 16?

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May 10, 2014

USPTO could be nicer to PDX and DAS users

(Further update: We win! As you can see here, the Commissioner answered our letter. The USPTO says it will stop the foot-dragging on retrieval of electronic certified copies.)

(Update: A letter got sent on February 22, 2020 to the Commissioner for Patents at the USPTO, asking the USPTO to stop its foot-dragging on retrieval of electronic certified copies from DAS and PDX. See blog post.)

If you fail to get your certified copy of your foreign priority application into the hands of the USPTO by sixteen months, you’ve lost your priority claim and will have to file a petition to get it back. Suppose you try to do this electronically and inadvertently get it wrong? USPTO’s present policy is to wait until past sixteen months to let you know. That’s not nice, and USPTO needs to change its policy.

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April 23, 2014

“PCT at the EPO” – important conference in October at The Hague

This October the European Patent Office will offer a two-day educational conference PCT at the EPO 2014. To learn more, and to register, go to the brochure page. This conference will take place at The Hague.

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April 21, 2014

PPH? Why not use Track I?

The EFS-Web listserv is for patent practitioners before the USPTO. A recent series of postings prompted me to offer a reminder of the potential benefits of PCT-PPH, and prompted a list member to ask:

If you are going to pay the cost of filing a PCT, why not just file TRACK I?

Here are my suggestions why I recommend not using Track I.

Continue reading “PPH? Why not use Track I?”

March 30, 2014

Three more reasons why you should use ePCT

In previous postings I have mentioned reasons why filers should use ePCT, WIPO’s system that lets you see the status and content of your pending PCT applications. Here are three more reasons.

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March 30, 2014

For those filing at WIPO, a time zone change

The US and Europe do not agree on when to start and when to stop Daylight Saving Time. The US started DST on March 9, 2014, and Europe started DST today, March 30. This is important for US filers who file things at WIPO.

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March 21, 2014

Hello Michigan intellectual property practitioners!

This coming Monday, March 24, I will be at the Kellogg Center of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, speaking at the 2014 Intellectual Property Law Spring Seminar sponsored by the The Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. My topic is “PCT Practice Tactics and Strategies”.

Continue reading “Hello Michigan intellectual property practitioners!”

March 15, 2014

Why the smart US filers are filing in RO/IB this weekend

Many US patent filers always file their PCT applications in RO/US, and many US patent filers don’t know how to file a PCT application anywhere else (such as RO/IB). But during the four-day period from March 14 to March 17, smart US patent filers are filing their PCT applications in RO/IB using ePCT rather than RO/US using EFS-Web.

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February 23, 2014

Does the USPTO give you the same examiner as in the PCT?

(Updated to reflect that Forty-two patent practitioners have asked Director Vidal to make it so. See blog post and update below.)

A member of the PCT Listserv asks “does USPTO give you the same Examiner in a US national application and in the corresponding PCT application?” This is a very interesting question and has several sub-questions to it. Continue reading “Does the USPTO give you the same examiner as in the PCT?”

February 22, 2014

Upcoming speaking events

On Monday, March 24, I will be speaking in East Lansing, Michigan at the 2014 Intellectual Property Law Spring Seminar. My topic is “PCT Practice Tactics and Strategies.”

The 49th Annual Corporate Patent Seminar will take place April 9-11 in Chicago. I will be speaking on several topics including Restoration of Priority and the Patent Cooperation Treaty.