Ant-Like Persistence

We’ve become aware of a new trick that Examiners at the USPTO use to force an applicant to file an RCE.  I hesitated for a while to blog about this, fearing that this blog article would educate any Examiners that did not already know about this trick.  But hopefully the powers-that-be at the USPTO will read this blog article and will take appropriate steps to block the trick.  And anyway maybe the word had gotten around the Examining Corps about this trick some time ago, and maybe there aren’t any Examiners that don’t already knew about this trick.

Continue reading “Examiners discover a new RCE trick”

When I was first in practice some thirty years ago, the way that you kept abreast of any and all developments in IP law was … you paid $1000 per year to subscribe to BNA’s PTC Journal.  This came out every two weeks, if I recall correctly, and told its readers about rulemakings, important court cases, and other developments.  Some years later it became commonplace for professional organizations like AIPLA and the ABA/IPL to send out an email newsletter reporting important events maybe a week after the event occurred.

How things have changed.  Nowadays if I want to know whether something important happened, the way I find out is that one of the IP bloggers blogged about it (see Patently-O and TTABlog and the other bloggers who sponsor “Meet the Bloggers“).  Or I learn about it from one or another of the listservs for IP professionals (see some of the listservs here).  Or if, like me, you are an adjunct professor on an IP subject, you can benefit from the IP Profs listserv.  Generally if something interesting or important has happened, I can be pretty sure that I will hear about it from one of these valuable resources.  And I will likely hear about it from one of these resources much sooner than from any of the legacy sources.

Which brings me to today’s posting.  Alert listserv member Rick Neifeld posted an article to the PAIR listserv.  He wrote:

WIPO is launching a structure search functionality early in October.

By which he means a functionality for searching chemical structures.

Now there have always been resources for searching chemical structures.  The ones I have known about over the years were fee-for-service resources from providers such as Orbit and Dialog.  I don’t really know but I have to assume that USPTO and the other major patent offices must have always had internal resources for searching chemical structures.

I like to think that I keep on top of many if not most outreach efforts and initiatives from WIPO.  And I had never heard that WIPO is launching a structure search functionality, let alone that it would be launched early in October.  How did I hear about it?  From Rick in the PAIR listserv.  Bless his heart he also posted his notes and comments and excerpts from the WIPO presentation slides.  You can see them here.  It seems that WIPO gave an outreach presentation today, and Rick attended, and later the same day he provided his very helpful notes.

As I understand it from Rick’s notes, this will be an add-on to the existing search functionalities of Patentscope.

Thank you Rick!

Oh by the way, the first poster to correctly identify the chemical in the structure quoted above will receive a piece of swag, namely an official OPLF voltmeter.

Anyone who is relatively new to US patent prosecution will benefit from AIPLA’s Patent Prosecution Boot Camp.  Now in its eighteenth year, this boot camp offers the opportunity to learn from experienced patent practitioners.  From the brochure:

This two-day seminar, also referred to as “boot camp,” is tailored to new practitioners (those having less than two years of experience), or others who want to learn the basics of patent application preparation and prosecution. This comprehensive CLE-accredited seminar includes instructional sessions, hands-on claim drafting, and responding to office actions workshops taught by highly skilled, experienced private and corporate practitioners.  At the program’s conclusion, attendees may choose to participate in one of three hands-on claim drafting and responding to office actions workshops in these areas:

• Biotechnology/Chemical
• Electrical/Software
• Mechanical

Where: Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road NW, Washington, DC 20008-4106.

Yours truly will be one of the presenters.

To learn more, or to register, click here.