Patent Law

WIPO Magazine ? 2/2009 Issue

Posted on April 30, 2009
The 2/2009 issue of WIPO Magazine is available on line through the World Intellectual Property Organization's website, and as referenced in my prior post, this particular issue focuses on green technology. The following articles (as referenced on WIPO's website, each hyperlinked for convenience) are included within the 2/2009 issue:IP and Climate Change Negotiations: From Bali to Copenhagen, Via Pozna? ? This article discusses various conferences in connection with climate change, starting with a 1992 convention held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and ending with the convening of the most current Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland...

World Intellectual Property Day ? 04/26/2009

Posted on April 28, 2009
As highlighted by the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO"), 2009?s World Intellectual Property Day ("World IP Day") was April 26, 2009. According to the WIPO World IP Day website (link below), "WIPO and its Member States celebrate World Intellectual Property Day with activities, events and campaigns," which "seek to increase public understanding of what IP really means, and to demonstrate how the IP system fosters not only music, arts and entertainments, but also all the products and technological innovations that help to shape our world...

USPTO Announces German PPH Program

Posted on April 23, 2009
Last week, the USPTO announced that it has partnered with the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) in establishing the newest Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program. This new program, starting on April 27th of this year and running for an initial two period, is being established to "streamline the patent system and promote expeditious, inexpensive and high-quality patent protection throughout the world...

Octomom??

Posted on April 22, 2009
On April 10, 2009, Nadya Suleman, widely known as "Octomom" based on giving birth to octuplets earlier this year, filed two separate trademark applications for the mark OCTOMOM. The first application (U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 77/711,827, first link below) was filed in international class 041 in connection with the services of "entertainment in the nature of on-going television programs in the field of varity (sp)...

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USPTO National Trademark Expo ? May 8-9, 2009

Posted on April 08, 2009
The USPTO has announced that its National Trademark Expo event will be held on May 8th (10AM-6PM) and 9th (10AM ? 4PM) in the atrium of the USPTO?s Madison Building in Alexandria, Virginia. This event, referenced in the USPTO announcement link below, "will feature exciting colorful interactive exhibits that illustrate the pervasive and important role trademarks play in our economy," whereby "[v]isitors will learn about the many different kinds of trademarks such as sound, design and color, and will also learn about the history and evolution of trademarks, some of which are more than 100 years old...

EPO Announces Several Revisions to the Implementing Regulations of the EPC

Posted on April 07, 2009
On Monday, and in two separate decisions, the European Patent Office announced several revisions to the Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention ("EPC"). The first decision (CA/D 2/09) includes revisions to and/or language under Articles 1-3, namely to Rules 36, 57, and 135 under Article 1...

DDIP Tidbits ? 04/06/2009

Posted on April 06, 2009
1. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has issued a warning regarding "certain companies [that] are soliciting payment for Canadian trade-mark registration applications that were in fact not requested." If you have received an invoice relating to a Canadian trademark that did not originate from your trademark agent/attorney or the CIPO, the CIPO recommends that you contact your agent or the CIPO at the number provided in the CIPO warning...

Blog vacation - returning Monday, April 6th

Posted on March 26, 2009
Posts on the Daily Dose of IP blog will return on April 6, 2009. Thanks for reading!

USPTO Comments on International Applications with Improperly Chosen ISAs

Posted on March 18, 2009
On Friday, the USPTO issued an announcement regarding a "significant number of international applications" filed in the U.S. Receiving Office under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) that were filed with a chosen International Searching Authority (ISA) that is not competent to review the subject matter of the claimed invention...

USPTO Extends Deferred Examination Comment Window

Posted on March 10, 2009
In yesterday?s Federal Register, the USPTO announced that it has extending its comment window regarding deferred examination "to provide interested members of the public with an additional opportunity to view the Webcast before submitting comments to the USPTO...

EPO President Decides Electronic Filing Matters

Posted on March 05, 2009

USPTO Seeking NMTI Nominations

Posted on March 03, 2009

EPO Seeks Comments on Patentability of Computer Programs

Posted on February 25, 2009
The European Patent Office (EPO) recently announced that its Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) is accepting written statements regarding pending referral G 3/08 pertaining to the patentability of computer programs. Third parties to the appeal have until the deadline of April 30, 2009 to submit written comments and any new cited documents in connection with the following four referred questions:1...

2007 EPO Patent Statistics Now Available

Posted on February 19, 2009
The European Patent Office (EPO) announced yesterday on its website that its annual compilation of patent statistics has been completed and is publicly available for the year 2007. According to the EPO announcement (first link below), the statistics include the following:- the number of European patent applications filed per technical domain and origin- the number of European patents granted per technical domain and origin- the most active patent filersStatistical data, based upon extracts from the EPO?s monitoring database EPASYS, is available for the following categories:1...

CIPO Changes TOB Practice

Posted on February 16, 2009
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office ("CIPO") recently announced that its Trade-marks Opposition Board will be revising its procedures effective March 31, 2009. According to the CIPO announcement (link below), the new practice is provided in a formal notice entitled "Practice in Trademark Opposition Proceedings," with changes including (quoted directly from the announcement):- "Simplifying and clarifying the Registrar's benchmarks for granting extensions of time...

PPAC Committee Meeting to be Webcast this Friday

Posted on February 12, 2009
On Friday, February 13th, the USPTO will be providing to the public, via webcast, the public sessions of the next Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) meeting. The actual meeting, held at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, VA, will commence at 9:30am local time and will continue to 3:00pm, with a public stream of the event available at a specific USPTO webpage (link provided below)...

WIPO Meeting to Discuss IP as a Financing Tool

Posted on February 09, 2009
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced last week that it will be holding a meeting next month at WIPO headquarters to discuss the use if intellectual property (IP) assets as a tool to raise financing. This meeting, to be held on March 10, 2009, will discuss using IP assets, namely "copyright, patents, trademarks, designs ? as collateral, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises which depend on know-how and IP assets to bolster company value" as referenced within the WIPO press release (link below)...

USPTO Concludes Continuing Education Pilot Program

Posted on February 05, 2009
On Monday, the USPTO announced that it "successfully" tested the delivery of its own continuing education materials to patent practitioners through its Learning Management System. Last fall, the USPTO allowed over 850 patent attorneys and agents to participate in the pilot program, which included courses on how the USPTO handles patent applications post-KSR, common errors made by patent practitioners in petitions practice, and how the USPTO handles electronic signatures and powers of attorney...

USPTO to Host Deferred Patent Examination Roundtable

Posted on February 03, 2009
In the January 28, 2009 Federal Register, the USPTO announced that it will be hosting a roundtable event to discuss the topic of deferred patent examination. According to the Federal Register (excerpt link below), the roundtable will be held on February 12, 2009, from 9 a...

USPTO/KIPO PPH Now Permanent

Posted on January 30, 2009
The USPTO and the Korean Intellectual Property Office ("KIPO") collectively announced that their original pilot Patent Prosecution Highway ("PPH") program will be implemented full time starting on January 29, 2009. According to the USPTO, and under this PPH, "an applicant receiving a ruling from either the KIPO or the USPTO that at least one claim in an application is patentable may request that the corresponding application filed at the other office advanced out of turn for examination," and "[b]y basing the prosecution in the second office on patentable results from the first office, applicants can expect to obtain patents in both offices faster...

EPO Announces New Fee Structure Effective April 1, 2009

Posted on January 27, 2009
On Monday, the European Patent Office (EPO) provided a formal notice via the EPO website regarding significant changes to its current fee structure. According to the EPO, "Those aspects of the new fee structure described under points 3.1 to 3.4 below (two-tier structure of claims fees, additional fee on filing, flat designation fee, flat fee for grant and publication) apply to European patent applications, including European divisional applications and new applications under Article 61(1)(b) EPC, filed on or after 1 April 2009 and to international applications entering the regional phase on or after that date...

JPO Updates Patent Guidelines

Posted on January 23, 2009
The Japanese Patent Office ("JPO") announced yesterday that it has revised its "Examination Guidelines for Patent and Utility Model" having an original effective date of December 28, 2000. Japanese Guidelines are provided within ten distinct parts, including Specification, Requirements for Patentability, Amendment of Specification and Drawings, Priority, Special Application, Patent Term Extension, Examination Guidelines for Inventions in Specific Fields, Foreign Language Application, Procedure of Examination, and Utility Model...

Monday AND Tuesday are USPTO Holidays

Posted on January 19, 2009
If you electronically filed any patent documentation through EFS-Web last week, you likely saw the following notice:"Advisory (9JAN2009): January 19-20, 2009 are Federal holidays within the District of Columbia, under 35 U.S.C. 21(b) because January 19, 2009 is Martin Luther King, Jr?s birthday and January 20, 2009 is Inauguration Day...

EPO to Replace Corrupt U.S. Assignment Data

Posted on January 14, 2009
On Friday, the European Patent Office (EPO) announced that due to a number of corrupt U.S. assignment records within the PRS legal status database (espacenet/OPS), each of the over 6.4 million assignment records will be deleted from the system next week and replaced with reloaded assignment data the first or second week in February...

UPDATE - Additional USPTO Fee Changes Take Effect Today

Posted on January 12, 2009
As noted in my previous blog post, the USPTO introduced seven (7) patent fee changes effective January 1, 2009. As noted in a recently-updated fee schedule taking effect today (January 12, 2009), three (3) additional fee changes have been implemented, also impacting PCT applications filed with the U...

New USPTO Fees Took Effect January 1

Posted on January 08, 2009
On January 1, 2009, seven USPTO patent fee changes became effective, including six fee decreases and only one fee increase. Each of these fee changes fall within the "PCT Fees to Foreign Offices" section of the USPTO fee schedule, and include fees applicable to filing PCT applications with the U...

Macedonia Accedes to EPC

Posted on January 07, 2009
On January 1, 2009, the Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia became a member of the European Patent Organisation after its ratification of the European Patent Convention. As noted within the recent European Patent Office (EPO) press release (link below), "The European Patent Organisation's members now include all 27 EU member states plus Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey...

U.S. Copyright Office Seeking Comments on Proposed Exempted Classes of Works

Posted on January 06, 2009
The U.S. Copyright Office recently announced that it is soliciting comments on proposed exemptions in rulemaking on exemption from prohibition on circumvention of technological measures that control access to works. In its announcement (first link below), "[i]n its triennial rulemaking proceeding regarding possible exemption by the Librarian of Congress of certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works, the Copyright Office has received 19 proposals for classes of works to be subject to exemptions...

DDIP Tidbits ? 01/05/2009

Posted on January 05, 2009
1. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has posted its final volume of the WIPO Magazine (no. 6, November/December 2008) on its website. Some highlighted articles include a summary of the various WIPO member state assembly meetings in 2008, a construction update regarding the status of the new WIPO facility, and commentary regarding software patentability...

Happy Holidays!

Posted on December 22, 2008
div align="justify"Posts on the Daily Dose of IP will resume after the holidays on Monday, January 5, 2009. Have a happy and safe holiday and new year, and thanks for reading the DDIP blog! /div

New BPAI Rules on Hold

Posted on December 12, 2008
The USPTO recently announced that the implementation of its new rules regarding practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) in ex parte appeals were placed on hold. These new rules, as outlined in the first Federal Register excerpt (link below), include changes to clarify that the BPAI is not a tribunal for de novo examination, procedures to determine whether an appellant has established that the Examiner on the case has erred (requiring the appellant to explain why the Examiner has erred, noting that arguments not made are waived), the replacement of a ?summary of the invention? section with a claims and drawing analysis and a means or step plus function analysis, limitations of 30 page briefs (excluding some required items), and others...

DDIP Tidbits ? 12/09/2008

Posted on December 09, 2008
1. The recent World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) meeting concluded late last week, which focused on non-traditional marks (3D marks, color marks, hologram marks, etc...

Crocs, Skechers Settle Patent Dispute

Posted on December 04, 2008
It was recently announced that the makers of Crocs and Skechers footwear have settled their dispute initiated earlier this year by Crocs Inc. According to the Rocky Mountain News article (link below), Crocs Inc. filed suit this past July claiming that certain styles of footwear manufactured by Skechers USA Inc...

USPTO Expands TMOG Archive

Posted on December 03, 2008
Last Friday, the USPTO announced that it is expanding its archive of online weekly issues of the Trademark Official Gazette (?TMOG?) available via the USPTO website. Prior to this expansion to a full year (52 issues) of the TMOG, only the last five issues were available at any given time...

WIPO to Host Life Sciences Symposium

Posted on December 01, 2008
Next month, the World Intellectual Property Organization (?WIPO?) will be hosting a life sciences symposium regarding the various national and institutional options for life sciences public sector IP management. According to the WIPO press release (link below), this seminar, to be held on December 15, 2008 in Geneva, Switzerland, the symposium ?will explore different national approaches, institutional policies and public-private partnerships, with a view to learning from practical experience,? providing ?informal discussion on these themes with the aim of reviewing the central issues in public sector IP management in the life sciences...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 26, 2008
The DDIP blog will resume after the Thanksgiving holiday on Monday, December 1, 2008. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

USPTO Introduces Practitioner Maintenance Fee

Posted on November 21, 2008
The USPTO announced earlier this week that it will be implementing an annual $118 practitioner maintenance fee for active patent agents and attorneys starting in 2009 "[c]onsistent with its commitment to e-government initiatives and promoting high standards of practice" before the USPTO...

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Accedes to the EPC

Posted on November 17, 2008
The European Patent Office (?EPO?) recently announced that on October 28, 2008, the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has requested to become part of the European Patent Convention (?EPC?) by depositing its formal instrument of accession...

USPTO Announces PCT Fee Increase

Posted on November 13, 2008
Yesterday, the USPTO announced that it is revising its rules of practice to adjust Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) transmittal and search fees. As summarized in the USPTO announcement and provided in detail within the Federal Register (links below), the PCT transmittal fee (37 C...

WIPO Member States Conclude Copyright Conference

Posted on November 11, 2008
On November 2-7, 2008, member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (?WIPO?) met to discuss several copyright issues pertinent to its members. As referenced within the WIPO press release (link below), conference issues included ?Limitations and Exceptions: Access for Visually Impaired People? (acknowledging ?the special needs of disabled persons (including the blind, visually impaired and other reading-disabled persons) and stress[ing] the importance of addressing those needs?), ?Audiovisual Performances? (where member states expressed ?their commitment to develop the international protection of performers in their audiovisual performances?), and ?Broadcasting Organizations? (including ?discussions on the protection of broadcasting organizations with a view to concluding an international instrument?)...

26th Trilateral Conference - Nov. 10-14, 2008

Posted on November 10, 2008
The 26th Trilateral Conference will take place in The Hague this week, where representatives of the U.S., European, and Japanese patent offices will meet to further formalize their efforts regarding patent prosecution cooperation. According to the European Patent Office ("EPO") press release (link below), "one of the main aims of the cooperation is to help inventors protect their inventions in several parts of the world, while reducing processing times through integrated patent infrastructure," with key meeting objectives including increased work sharing for PCT patent applications, the potential launch of a Patent Prosecution Highway between the EPO and the Japanese Patent Office, efforts to prioritize work on first filings, and the harmonization and sharing of "e-learning tools" among these three patent offices...

?Barack,? ?Obama,? and the USPTO

Posted on November 06, 2008
After such an exciting election, I thought I?d have some fun with a blog post and highlight a few attempts to register trademarks pertaining to our President-elect that, for reasons shown below, were unsuccessful:?BARACK STAR? ? U.S. Trademark Application Serial No...

IP Australia added as USPTO ISA

Posted on November 04, 2008
On October 31st, Jon Dudas, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the USPTO, announced that IP Australia, the Australian national patent office, will function as an International Searching Authority (ISA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for certain types of international patent applications for the USPTO as of November 1st...

CAFC Decides In re Bilski

Posted on October 31, 2008
Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed down its long-awaited decision in In re Bilski to help clarify the appropriate test to determine whether or not certain types of inventions may be patentable subject matter under 35 U...

Impact of the PRO-IP Act on Copyright Law

Posted on October 29, 2008
The U.S. Copyright Office recently highlighted a number of sections of the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act (the ?PRO-IP Act?) and their impact on the U.S. Copyright Act. As noted within the Copyright Office announcement (link below), the PRO-IP Act amends Section 410 of the Copyright Act to codify the doctrine of fraud on the Copyright Office during the copyright registration process...

DKPTO Joins USPTO PPH Effort

Posted on October 27, 2008
The USPTO recently announced that it has added the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO) to its Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program. As noted in the USPTO announcement (link below), the DKPTO joins the Japan Patent Office, the United Kingdom Patent Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, IP Australia, and the European Patent Office as PPH program members...

KIPO Becomes Third USPTO Document Exchange Participant

Posted on October 22, 2008
Last week, the USPTO announced that it has added the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) as the third participating foreign intellectual property office in its direct priority document exchange program. The KIPO, added as of October 14, 2008, joins the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) as current program participants...

EPO Adds New Online Training Courses

Posted on October 20, 2008
The European Patent Office (EPO) recently announced that it has added to its online course offerings to broaden the scope of information publicly available to IP practitioners and those interested in the field. As referenced within the EPO announcement (link below), four new courses have been added, including those related to identifying Chinese patent documents online and obtaining full-text patent documents via EP4Weeks, with these and others being held within the next two months...

WIPO Adds Courses to its Distance Learning Program

Posted on October 14, 2008
Last week, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced that, through its Worldwide Academy, it was adding five new courses to its widely used distance learning program. According to the WIPO press release (link below), the five new courses cover arbitration/mediation procedure, general patenting, patent searches, basic patent drafting, and trademarks...

USPTO Warns Customers Regarding Unsolicited Third-Party Communications

Posted on October 09, 2008
The USPTO recently issued a warning to its trademark customers regarding ?unsolicited communications? they may receive by companies offering trademark monitoring and document filing services. As noted within the USPTO warning (link below), ?solicitations from these companies frequently display customer-specific information, including USPTO serial number or registration number and owner name,? but the companies who offer these services ?are not affiliated or associated with the USPTO or any other federal agency...

USPTO Starts Trademark Consistency Initiative

Posted on October 08, 2008
Last week the USPTO announced a measure to improve trademark quality by providing a mechanism for trademark applicants to alert the trademark office as to potential inconsistencies among the applicant?s trademark portfolio. This new procedure begins with the submission of a Request for Consistency Review, when, according to the USPTO announcement (link below), ?a substantive or procedural issue (excluding any issues involving identifications of goods and services) has been addressed in a significantly different manner in different cases, subject to the following provisions: (1) the request is based on co-pending applications or an application and a registration owned by the same legal entity or a successor in interest (e...

The Federal Circuit Holds that Improper Revival of Patent Applications is Beyond Judicial Review

Posted on October 06, 2008
By Jay Gordon TaylorIn an artful job of issue dodging and a narrowly focused reading of the Patent Act, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) has dodged the key issue in Aristocrat Technologies Australia PTY Ldt. v. International Gaming Technology, i...

DDIP Tidbits ? 10/01/2008

Posted on October 01, 2008
1. On Monday, President Bush honored the 2007 recipients of the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology & Innovation at the White House in a program broadcast live via the White House website. The award recipients included six individuals and two companies, and involved inventions ranging from packet-switched communication networks to hereditary metabolic disorders to global entrepreneurship...

WIPO Appoints New Director General

Posted on September 26, 2008
On September 22, 2008, Francis Gurry was unanimously appointed by the 184 member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as the organization?s newest Director General. According to the WIPO press release (link below), this appointment promoted Gurry from his then-current position of Deputy Director General, his then-highest position in his 23 year tenure with WIPO...

USPTO and KIPO sign MOU

Posted on September 25, 2008
Yesterday the USPTO announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) regarding a more comprehensive cooperation on patent examination. This agreement, signed on September 23rd, focuses on the sharing of work between the two patent offices whereby each office can use the results of the other office for its own patent application examination...

USPTO Hosting IT Security Expo

Posted on September 23, 2008
This Wednesday, September 24, 2008, the USPTO will be hosting its Information Technology (IT) Security Expo at the main USPTO campus in Alexandria, Virginia. According to the USPTO press release (link below), there will be 3 speakers and over 30 IT software and hardware vendors to provide attendees with ?ideas and information that can be critical to both business and personal computer use...

DDIP Tidbits ? 9/22/2008

Posted on September 22, 2008
1. The USPTO has formally acknowledged the impact of Hurricane Gustav (in Louisiana and Texas) and Hurricane Ike (in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas) as a postal service interruption and emergency within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. § 21(a) and 37 C.F.R. § 1...

Australia to Become 9th Country to allow Korean Searches

Posted on September 18, 2008
As recently jointly announced by IP Australia and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), Australia will become the 9th national patent office to allow its applicants to select the KIPO as the International Search Authority (ISA) for PCT patent applications...

So? What Does It All Really Mean?

Posted on September 17, 2008
If you have recently accessed or attempted to access Private PAIR through the USPTO, you were required to check a box next to the following statement in order to proceed through the system:I understand that technology and/or software included in patent applications may be subject to U...

EPO Patent Statistics Conference Presentations Now Available Online

Posted on September 16, 2008
On September 3 and 4, 2008, the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) hosted a conference to discuss recent advances in the analysis of innovation regarding patent statistics. As noted within the original conference description (first link below), the conference ?aims at gathering original analytical investigations that build on recent data and address relevant questions for companies and policy makers including valuation of patents, patenting strategies, the links between technology and markets, patenting activity by universities and entrepreneurship...

USPTO New Fee Schedule Effective October 2, 2008

Posted on September 12, 2008
The USPTO has released its fee schedule to take effect on October 2, 2008, which will supersede the current fee schedule last updated on August 1, 2008. The following list contains some (but not all) of the fee changes. A complete listing of the new fees is provided in the link below...

Official Gazette ? Week #37

Posted on September 11, 2008
The September 9, 2008 Official Gazette (Week #37) was published this week, including a number of the following recurring topics (Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Information, Notice of Maintenance Fees Payable, Notice of Expiration of Patents Due to Failure to Pay Maintenance Fee, Patents Reinstated Due to the Acceptance of a Late Maintenance Fee from 08/11/2008, Reissue Applications Filed, Requests for Ex Parte Reexamination Filed, etc...

WIPO Free Publications List

Posted on September 10, 2008
While searching the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for a new blog article topic, I came across a resource previously unknown to me, namely the WIPO free publications list. Although I have blogged several times on free WIPO seminar reference documentation, I was unaware that a separate list of publications targeting various audiences is available to the public free of charge...

DDIP Tidbits ? 9/9/2008

Posted on September 09, 2008
1. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently released its 2008 edition of the World Patent Report. This Report, based upon cumulative 2006 data, includes statistics regarding total patent grants by patent office and by country of origin, resident and non-resident patent filings and granted patents, and emerging country patent filings and patent grants, among others...

DDIP "Makeover" Complete

Posted on September 08, 2008
Welcome to the "new" DDIP, complete with updated functionality and a fresh new look. Aside from regularly posted content providing you with updates regarding patent, trademark, copyright, and related intellectual property law information, the DDIP blog now offers additional resource functionality using the links and search boxes on the left-hand column of the blog, including the following:Patent information: DDIP blog readers may search U...

DDIP is Getting a Makeover!

Posted on August 21, 2008
Over the last few days I have started my work on the DDIP Blog "makeover" to provide additional functionality, reference materials, and an updated appearance. As such, please look forward to the "new" DDIP blog beginning Monday, September 8th!

?Portrait Gallery? Exhibit Opens at USPTO Museum

Posted on August 11, 2008
As referenced within a recent USPTO announcement (link below), the USPTO Museum has unveiled a new exhibit called ?Portrait Gallery? that ?highlight[s] past and present individuals who have made a contribution to America's intellectual property (IP) system...

Use Of Trade Secrets Mistakenly Sent By Email Can Be A Violation Of The Uniform Trade Secret Act

Posted on August 07, 2008
By Jay G. TaylorIn Ideal Aerosmith Inc. v. Acutronic USA, Inc., 87 U.S.P.Q. 2d 1341, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania found that a valid claim of trade secret misappropriation had been plead and denied a motion to dismiss where the defendant allegedly received the trade secrets through misdirected emails...

USPTO Launches New Child Innovation PSA Series

Posted on August 01, 2008
The USPTO recently announced that it has partnered with the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation (NIHFF), The Advertising Council, and the boutique advertising agency Publicis & Hal Riney to prepare and launch a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) designed to target children and hopefully inspire them to be the next generation of innovators...

USPTO Introducing Functionality to Update Practitioner Information Online

Posted on July 29, 2008
The USPTO recently announced that it will be introducing functionality through its website to allow registered practitioners to update their personal information as it appears within the USPTO interface. According to the USPTO announcement (link below), ?Allowing practitioners to maintain and update their own telephone number, postal and e-mail addresses will eliminate delays and processing errors in updating information, reduce losses caused by mailings made to obsolete addresses, and ensure prompt receipt of critical communications from [the Office of Enrollment and Discipline]...

USPTO Addresses Foreign Preparation of U.S. Patent Applications

Posted on July 24, 2008
In yesterday?s Federal Register (excerpt link below), the USPTO formally addressed the topic of whether or not applicants may use foreign law firms or service provider companies for the preparation of patent applications to be filed within the United States...

Peer Review Pilot Program to Continue

Posted on July 22, 2008
Last week the USPTO announced that it will continue and expand its Peer Review Pilot program, allowing a broader scope of applications to be considered. This program has existed for just over a year and allows the public to review published applications (from applicants participating in the program) within specific classes and subclasses, allowing the public to submit technical references and comments regarding why the references should be considered during prosecution...

Ebay Overcomes Tiffany?s Trademark Challenge

Posted on July 16, 2008
In a recent decision to a case filed by Tiffany & Co. four years ago, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Ebay Inc. was not liable for the sale of counterfeit Tiffany?s products on its website. In a 66 page decision (link below), Judge Richard Sullivan held that Tiffany?s failed to satisfy its burden on all asserted claims, namely direct and contributory trademark infringement, unfair competition, false advertising, and direct and contributory trademark dilution, which were asserted because ?eBay facilitated and allowed [ ] counterfeit items to be sold on its website...

WIPO Symposium to Discuss Life Sciences MEAs

Posted on July 14, 2008
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently announced that it will be holding a symposium as part of its Life Sciences Program to ?explore intellectual property (IP) rights and their role in the development and transfer of technologies within the context of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)...

U.S. Copyright Office Implements Online Copyright Application System

Posted on July 10, 2008
The U.S. Copyright Office recently implemented its Electronic Copyright Office ("eCO") Online System to allow users to file online copyright applications. As noted by the Copyright Office (link below), online filing allows filers to save $10 per application (noting that the standard $45 fee is reduced to $35 for online filing), also providing for faster application processing times and online status tracking...

Scrabble vs. Scrabulous

Posted on July 08, 2008
Scrabulous, the popular online game accessible via Facebook, is set to be replaced by an online version of Scrabble. Electronic Arts, the owner of the digital rights to Hasbro?s Scrabble, challenged the legality of Scrabulous earlier this year, claiming that Scrabulous infringes on the Scrabble trademarks...

EPO Hosting ?Growth Markets? IP Seminar

Posted on July 07, 2008
In a recent announcement, the European Patent Office (EPO) announced that it will be hosting a two-day conference to discuss intellectual property (IP) protection in growing markets. This seminar, entitled "Growing business with IP - winning strategies in emerging markets,? is co-hosted by Boccini University and will be held on July 17th and 18th in Milan, Italy...

USPTO Announces Next Independent Inventors Conference

Posted on July 02, 2008
The USPTO recently announced that its 13th annual Independent Inventors Conference will take place at USPTO headquarters (Alexandria, VA) on August 8 and 9, 2008. In addition to the conference, a pre-conference workshop will also be available the evening of August 7, whereby the public may learn ?about the basics of patents and the importance of intellectual property protection? prior to the two-day conference...

Revised USPTO Fees Effective July 1, 2008

Posted on June 30, 2008
When the USPTO revises its fees from time to time, a common practice of mine is to ?compare? the then-current fee schedule against the announced future fee schedule. The current USPTO fee schedule, with revisions effective May 15, 2008, will soon be replaced with a version with revisions effective tomorrow, July 1, 2008...

USPTO Proposes PCT Fee Increase

Posted on June 26, 2008
As noted within the June 18, 2008 Federal Register, the USPTO is proposing a PCT fee increase ?to recover the estimated average cost to the Office of processing PCT international applications and preparing international search reports and written opinions for PCT international applications...

WIPO to Host IP Office Development Forum

Posted on June 24, 2008
On July 1st and 2nd, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will be hosting an Inter-Regional Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, to assist least-developed countries (LDCs) with building and growing their respective intellectual property (IP) offices...

USPTO Comments on Recent IP Seminar

Posted on June 23, 2008
Last Friday, the USPTO along with the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) held a joint seminar educating Maryland businesses with respect to intellectual property (IP) protection and the ?growing threats of counterfeiting and piracy.? According to the USPTO announcement (link below), this seminar also ?provid[ed] information on how businesses can protect and enforce their own intellectual property rights in the United States and overseas,? noting that inventors from Maryland obtained over 1,400 U...

USPTO Changing Trademark Grace Period Practice

Posted on June 19, 2008
In a recent announcement, the USPTO notified trademark practitioners that its practice regarding grace periods for certain affidavit and renewal filings will be changed during a test program. Traditionally, if a trademark owner does not file a §8 affidavit or §9 renewal prior to the end of the six-month grace period (re: 15 U...

Blog Vacation - The Daily Dose of IP blog will resume on Thursday, June 19th.

Posted on June 13, 2008
During that time, I will be visiting my grandparents to celebrate their 52nd wedding anniversary. Thanks for reading, and if you haven't already, please sign up for the DDIP e-mail list (see right).

USPTO to Host IP Rights Seminar in Baltimore

Posted on June 12, 2008
Next Friday (June 20th), the USPTO will be hosting its next one-day seminar in Baltimore, Maryland, highlighting ?practical information on how businesses can protect their own intellectual property rights both in the United States and overseas as well as discuss the growing threats of counterfeiting and piracy...

USPTO Publishes New Ex Parte Appeals Rules

Posted on June 10, 2008
Yesterday, the USPTO announced that it will be publishing its ?final rule? in an attempt to ?improve the process of ex parte appeals before the USPTO?s Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI)." Some of the new rules include new processes for Examiners to follow, including a requirement that the Examiner provide his or her reasons for rejection earlier in the process, noting that new grounds for rejection will no longer be permitted within the Examiner?s answers to an appellant?s brief...

EPO Updates Board of Appeals Decisions Webpage

Posted on June 09, 2008
The European Patent Office (EPO) recently updated its website to include information regarding its latest Board of Appeals (BOA) decisions. This latest update, posted on June 5th, includes information on the next 127 BOA decisions, including links to the underlying patents and the decisions themselves...

eBay Ordered to Pay Counterfeiting Damages

Posted on June 05, 2008
In a first of its kind ruling in France, eBay, Inc. has been ordered to pay 20,000 Euros (approximately $30,000) in damages to Hermes, a French company that manufactures and distributes high-end luxury consumer goods. At issue were a number of auctions held on eBay, including the sale of two counterfeit Hermes bags for 3,000 Euros, and according to the French court, ?By selling Hermes bags and branded accessories on the eBay...

USPTO Appoints New CAO

Posted on June 03, 2008
According to a recent USPTO press release (link below), Stephen Smith has been appointed as the new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the USPTO. Mr. Smith?s responsibilities shall include leading the Offices of Civil Rights, Human Resources, and Corporate Services groups within the USPTO...

USPTO Hosting Industrial Design Town Hall Meeting

Posted on May 30, 2008
Yesterday, the USPTO announced that it will be holding a town hall meeting on the protection of industrial designs on June 16, 2008, at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. According to the USPTO press release (link below), design patents can offer protection for the appearance, for example, of automobiles, noting that the automotive industry ?invests millions of dollars creating unique and distinctive designs for motor vehicles...

YouTube Case Becoming Increasingly Political?

Posted on May 28, 2008
As you may know, in March of 2007, Viacom, Comedy Partners, and other plaintiffs filed a $1B copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube and Google. In a recently filed ?DEFENDANTS? ANSWER TO FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL,? YouTube not only responded paragraph by paragraph to the amended complaint, but also included a number of statements which have become widely reported...

EPO Announces New China IP Protection Initiative

Posted on May 27, 2008
Last Friday, the European Patent Office (EPO) announced the April launch of a 16M Euro initiative with the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), the Chinese government, and the European Commission. As referenced within the EPO article (link below), ?Although China's legal framework for protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) is now in line with international standards, the actual enforcement of IPR remains a critical issue...

Blog Vacation

Posted on May 20, 2008
I will be taking a "blog vacation" until Tuesday, May 27th, to enjoy May in Indianapolis (the Indy 500 over Memorial Day weekend). Posts on the Daily Dose of IP blog will resume on the 27th. Thank you for visiting and please join the e-mail list for posts direct to your inbox!

Anascape Obtains $21M Patent Infringement Verdict

Posted on May 16, 2008
It was recently announced that Anascape Ltd. obtained a $21M verdict against Nintendo of America Inc. for patent infringement regarding various Nintendo gaming controllers. The lawsuit, filed on July 31, 2006 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Lufkin), alleged infringement of eleven of Anascape?s patents by Microsoft Corp...

USPTO Hosting TOYchallenge

Posted on May 14, 2008
The USPTO recently announced that it will be hosting the 2008 Sally Ride Science TOYchallenge East Coast National Showcase this Saturday, May 17th at the main USPTO campus. According to the USPTO press release (link below), ?[t]he TOYchallenge is a national toy design competition for 5th ? 8th graders designed to introduce girls and boys to engineering...

The World of Patent Infringement is Becoming Flat

Posted on May 13, 2008
By Jay Gordon TaylorJust as competition in the world economy is purportedly becoming flat due to advances in technology as described in Thomas L. Friedman's best selling book, The World is Flat, the law of patent infringement is likewise becoming flat due to internet technology...

Judgment Issued Against TorrentSpy

Posted on May 08, 2008
In a judgment issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on Monday, a half dozen television and movie studios were awarded nearly $111M against the now-defunct file sharing service TorrentSpy. As reported within the Wired article (link below), ?TorrentSpy, a U...

WIPO Domain Name Resources

Posted on May 07, 2008
I was recently navigating through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) website and came across an interesting domain name dispute resolution resource webpage. This webpage (first link below) includes the following subparts with additional information included therein:Resources ? includes domain name resolution resources, frequently asked questions, a country code top level domain (ccTLD) database, internationalized domain name information, a trademark database portal, information on WIPO internet domain name processes, a legal index of WIPO UDRP decisions, and an overview of WIPO panel viewsProcedures ? includes procedural information on generic top level domains (gTLDs), ccTLDs, filing, panelists, fees, and the WIPO guide to the UDRPCases Filed ? includes links to all filed WIPO domain name cases, filing statistics, and search functionality for WIPO UDRP cases (including a legal index)Decisions ? includes links to all WIPO domain name decisions, the ability to subscribe to receive e-mail updates, and search functionality for WIPO UDRP panel decisions (including a legal index)...

USPTO Focuses on Automobile Design Protection

Posted on May 06, 2008
Starting today, the USPTO is kicking off a series of meetings with major automobile manufacturers to discuss intellectual property protection related to the designs of automobiles. The first meeting, hosted by Margaret J.A. Peterlin, the Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO, will include representatives from GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, and the Auto Alliance, with future planned meetings to include insurance companies, independent parts manufacturers, and various consumer groups...

WIPO Magazine ? Current Issue

Posted on May 05, 2008
I came across this interesting resource and thought it would be worthy of sharing. Since 1998, the World Intellectual Property Organization (?WIPO?) has published an online and print version of WIPO Magazine, covering various intellectual-property related issues...

Japan Changes Currency Due to Copyright Infringement

Posted on May 02, 2008
According to a recent Yahoo! News article (link below), the Japanese finance ministry has been forced to stop production of one of its latest commemorative coins based on a claim of copyright infringement. The original commemorative coin showed bronze sculptures of a family standing in Brazil to celebrate 100 years of Japanese emigration to Brazil, with an image of the sculptures appearing on approximately 5 million minted 500 yen coins...

EPO Places Oral Proceedings Calendar Online

Posted on April 30, 2008
Yesterday the European Patent Office (EPO) announced that it has made the current Oral proceedings calendar available from the EPO website. As noted within the EPO announcement (link below), one "can search for oral proceedings by patent application number, date or location," and that "[t]he extended search enables you to combine fields such the name of the applicant(s) or proprietor(s) and opponent(s) or representative(s)...

USPTO Announces EPO PPH

Posted on April 29, 2008
On Monday, the USPTO announced its latest Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program, the latest being an initiative with the European Patent Office (EPO). According to the USPTO announcement (link below), ?[t]he Patent Prosecution Highway will leverage fast-track patent examination procedures already available in both offices to allow applicants to obtain corresponding patents faster and more efficiently,? and ?[i]t also will permit each office to exploit the work previously done by the other office and reduce duplication...

USPTO Updates TESS

Posted on April 25, 2008
The USPTO recently announced two new features to its Trademark Electronic Search System (?TESS?). The first feature (image list) allows drawings of marks to appear in three columns on search results, whereby the ?Image List? button can be clicked after a search to enable this new feature...

USPTO Announces i-©®eaTM Curriculum

Posted on April 23, 2008
Last week, the USPTO announced its latest educational effort, the i-©®eaTM Curriculum. As noted by the USPTO (link below), the launch of this new curriculum is to ?inspire[] students to be creative and teach[] them about the value of patents, trademarks, and copyrights, as well as the importance of respecting other?s intellectual property,? and is ?a valuable resource for teachers to introduce students to the inventive process through cross-curricular activities, inspirational stories of young inventors, and practical hands-on patent and trademark searching on the Internet...

Patriots to Obtain 19-0?

Posted on April 22, 2008
As reported by The Smoking Gun, the New England Patriots, after falling one win shy of a perfect football season last year, appear to continue moving forward with their trademark applications for ?19-0? and ?19-0 The Perfect Season.? These two pending applications (U...

USPTO Announces ?Financial Profile? System

Posted on April 17, 2008
Earlier this week, the USPTO announced the introduction of its new ?Financial Profile? system from the USPTO website to provide ?customers with secure, fast, and convenient access to payment history information anytime? from the internet. According to the USPTO, the Financial Profile system will help ?with reconciling your payment activities by providing detailed transaction information and reports for all fees paid to the USPTO,? whereby upon registration, a user may utilize any number of payment types, view and print detailed transaction information, view, print, and download monthly statements, and perform specific searches based upon an attorney docket number, an application number, a transaction type, and/or a payment amount...

WIPO Facilitates IP Education in Mexico

Posted on April 16, 2008
It was announced late last week that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has entered into two agreements to advance intellectual property education in Mexico. The two agreements, entered into with the Technological Institute of Monterrey and the University of Guadalajara, are expected to increase patent filings from those two institutions and provide the faculty and students with additional insight into IP protection in Mexico...

USPTO to Host Independent Inventor Online Chat This Week

Posted on April 14, 2008
On Tuesday, April 15th, the USPTO will be hosting its next live online chat for independent inventors. This chat, to be held from 2:00 to 3:00PM EST, will include a number of senior officials from the USPTO answering questions in a continuing effort by the USPTO to ?promote and protect America?s independent inventors,? with the effort including ?educating inventor-entrepreneurs about the risks of working with invention development companies...

Trademark Expo Begins Today

Posted on April 10, 2008
Opening today and running through Saturday, the USPTO is hosting its National Trademark Expo at the main atrium of the USPTO campus in Alexandria, Virginia. According to the USPTO announcement, several speakers, including Jon Dudas (Under Secretary for Intellectual Property at the USPTO), Lynne Beresford (the Commissioner for Trademarks at the USPTO), and William Euille (the Mayor of the City of Alexandria) will provide comments regarding the impact of trademarks in the United States...

USPTO Tidbits

Posted on April 09, 2008
The USPTO has issued a number of news releases in the past week ? here is a brief summary of several notable ones.The International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has informed the USPTO that the search fee required by the European Patent Office (EPO) when the EPO acts as the International Searching Authority (ISA) has increased to $2,496...

USPTO Hosting Public PAIR Webcast

Posted on April 07, 2008
In response to the ?data-mining? of USPTO Public PAIR data by a number of online organizations, the USPTO will be hosting a webcast on Wednesday, April 30th, to discuss a more permanent fix to this bandwidth problem. As you may have experienced, and has been discussed previously on the DDIP blog, access to Public PAIR was sporadic because of a number of entities engaging in ?bulk downloads of massive amounts of data? strained the Public PAIR system...

DDIP Spring Break - Posts on the Daily Dose of IP Blog will resume on Monday, April 7th - Enjoy Spring Break!

Posted on March 31, 2008

USPTO/GWU MBA Competition: Fix the Backlog

Posted on March 27, 2008
The USPTO announced that it has partnered with the George Washington University School of Business to sponsor the 2008 International Business Case Competition, with this year?s topic matching business school teams against one another to find a solution to the USPTO?s current patent pendency and backlog problems...

WIPO Announces IP Management Seminar with the Kellogg School of Management

Posted on March 26, 2008
Last week, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced that it has teamed up with the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, Illinois, to host an upcoming executive program on intellectual property management. This program, entitled ?Strategies for Management of Intellectual Property,? will be held from June 9-12, 2008, and according to the WIPO press release (link below), the program ?will offer an opportunity to gain a practical understanding of the various strategies and approaches to enable effective development and optimization of a company?s intellectual property assets, to formulate effective IP-focused business strategies and to successfully negotiate IP licensing agreements with business partners...

USPTO to Host New China IP Seminar

Posted on March 24, 2008
The USPTO recently announced that it will host a seminar next month regarding the protection of IP in China. The seminar, entitled ?USPTO China Road Show,? will be held from April 2-3, 2008, at the Houston Hobby Airport Marriott Hotel in Houston, Texas, and will focus on teaching businesses how to protect against intellectual property theft from China...

New Trademark Description Rule to Take Effect May 13, 2008

Posted on March 19, 2008
Last Friday, the USPTO announced via the Federal Register (excerpt link below) that it will be instituting new trademark rules of practice to require written descriptions of non-standard character trademarks. In October, 2007, the USPTO proposed the new rules and solicited comments from the public, and in response, the USPTO finalized the rule changes (as noted within the Federal Register) to require ?a description of the mark in all applications to register a mark not in standard characters? with the goal that ?[t]his requirement will facilitate more accurate and comprehensive design coding and pseudo-mark data determinations, and therefore will promote better searchability of marks within the USPTO database...

USPTO Posts 2/28/2008 Online Chat Transcript

Posted on March 18, 2008
The USPTO recently posted a transcript of its February 28, 2008, independent inventor online chat. Although many questions were repeated from prior online chats (like the differences between trademarks and copyrights, inquiries about locating patent attorneys, etc...

USPTO Announces Nanotechnology Meeting

Posted on March 13, 2008
On Wednesday, the USPTO announced its upcoming Nanotechnology Customer Partnership meeting to be held on April 22, 2008, at the South Auditorium of the Madison Building at the USPTO. According to the USPTO announcement (link below), "[t]his Nanotechnology Customer Partnership initiative is designed and developed to be a forum to share ideas, experiences, and insights between individual users and the USPTO...

EPO Online Training Schedule Updated

Posted on March 12, 2008
The European Patent Office (EPO) announced yesterday that it has updated its online training schedule for the month of April. As noted in the EPO news release (link below), the EPO will be resuming its ?virtual classrooms? training events next month, the first event to be held of April 1st...

Utah Amends Controversial Trademark Law

Posted on March 11, 2008
It was recently announced that Utah has amended its state law that limited the ability for internet search engines from using trademarked items as the basis for triggering online advertisements. As summarized by the Google Public Policy Blog article (link below), last year the Utah State legislature passed a law ?that essentially prohibited search engines like Google from allowing trademarks from being used as keywords to trigger ads,? noting that, ?at the time, this law ran counter to the precedent of federal trademark law, which has consistently upheld comparative advertising as being good for consumers, competition and free speech...

EPO Announced New IP Training Website

Posted on March 10, 2008
Last week the European Patent Office (EPO) announced that it has launched a new website to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and intellectual property trainers with IP training information. The website, called INNO ACTIONS (www.ip4inno...

WIPO Magazine ? Current Issue

Posted on March 06, 2008
I came across this interesting resource and thought it would be worthy of sharing. Since 1998, the World Intellectual Property Organization (?WIPO?) has published an online and print version of WIPO Magazine, covering various intellectual-property related issues...

USPTO Announces Proposed Trademark Filing Rule Changes

Posted on March 04, 2008
On Friday, the USPTO announced via the Federal Register (link below) that it plans on amending its rules of practice regarding obtaining a filing date as of the date that trademark correspondence is deposited as Express Mail with the U.S. Postal Service...

eBay and MercExchange Settle Patent Infringement Suit

Posted on February 29, 2008
It was announced on Thursday that eBay, Inc., and MercExchange have settled their patent dispute that began back in 2001. According to the Washington Post news article (link below), eBay agreed in the settlement to purchase three patents from MercExchange and licensing other technologies which collectively allow eBay to continue to offer a number of fixed-price purchase options on its top online auction website...

Dudas Provides Congressional Testimony

Posted on February 28, 2008
On Wednesday, Jon Dudas, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, testified as to the progress the USPTO has made over the last couple of years. According to the USPTO (link below), the testimony, provided to the House Judiciary Committee?s Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, focused on a number of ?hot topics? within the USPTO, including ?patent and trademark quality and timeliness; hiring, retention and work-life offerings such as the USPTO?s award-winning telework program; global policy and enforcement initiatives; and the pending patent modernization legislation...

Foo Fighters Allege Copyright Infringement

Posted on February 27, 2008
In a recent lawsuit, the Foo Fighters allege that Marvel Comics, the company behind the Spider-Man and Fantastic Four movies, infringed two of its songs by using them within a television series trailer without permission. According to Paste Magazine (link below), the Foo Fighters, along with Roswell Records Inc...

Calendar of WIPO Events ? March, 2008

Posted on February 26, 2008
As previously referenced by the DDIP blog, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) makes available a calendar of conferences, meetings, and seminars, in Geneva, Switzerland, and elsewhere, along with event documentation when available. The following international WIPO events are scheduled for March, 2008:February 25 ? March 8 ? ?WIPO Regional Capacity Building Workshop on Patent Drafting? (WIPO/IP/SIN/08) in Singapore, Singapore...

WIPO Publishes New PCT Statistics

Posted on February 22, 2008
On Thursday, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) published a list of statistics related to global Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent application filings. As noted in the WIPO news release (link below), the first chart discusses the number of published PCT patent applications by company, with Matsushita (Japan) leading the pack with 2,100 published applications in 2006, with Philips Electronics N...

USPTO Seeks Technological Achievement Award Nominees

Posted on February 21, 2008
The USPTO announced yesterday that it is seeking nominations from the public for innovators to receive recognition for their technological achievements. Each year our President awards the National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI) to those winning leading innovators...

Activision Pursues ?DJ Hero? Trademark Registration

Posted on February 20, 2008
On the heels of the wildly popular ?Guitar Hero? video game, Activision recently filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the mark ?DJ HERO.? As reported by Trademork (link below), this appears to be related to the first peripheral aside from the gaming guitars to be pursued by Activision...

DDIP Blog Vacation

Posted on February 12, 2008
Posts on the DDIP Blog will resume on Wednesday, February 20th. Thanks for visiting!

Calendar of WIPO Events ? February, 2008

Posted on February 07, 2008
As previously referenced by the DDIP blog, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) makes available a calendar of conferences, meetings, and seminars, in Geneva, Switzerland, and elsewhere, along with event documentation when available. The following international WIPO events are scheduled for February, 2008:February 4 and 5 - ?International Patent Classification (IPC) Workshop? (IPC/WK/GE/08) in Geneva, Switzerland...

USPTO Proposed FY2009 Budget Announced

Posted on February 06, 2008
On Monday, the USPTO announced its request of a $2B+ budget for FY2009, marking the first time the $2 billion level has been requested by the office. The FY2009 request of $2.075 billion represents an 8% increase over the FY2008 level of $1.916 billion, and as referenced within the USPTO announcement (link below), this budget proposal will support the anticipated hire of 1,200 patent examiners during that period and will allow for the expansion of web-based business transactions with the USPTO...

Patent Reform Act Teleconference Scheduled for Today

Posted on February 05, 2008
Starting at 10:30AM today, the USPTO will be holding a conference call to discuss details regarding the Patent Reform Act of 2007. This teleconference, highlighted by Jon Dudas, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, will include a discussion on the Bush administration?s position on S...

EP Translation Requirements to Ease on May 1st

Posted on February 01, 2008
By Bill Lyon, Ph.D.The London Agreement, which was originally crafted in October, 2000, to curb the costs of acquiring patent rights in member countries of the European Patent Organization ("EPO"), was ratified on January 29, 2008, and will go into force on May 1, 2008...

Controversial Patent Upheld in Amended Form

Posted on January 31, 2008
In a recent article, the European Patent Office (?EPO?) announced that its opposition division has maintained the existence of the ?frozen sperm? patent owned by XY Inc. in Colorado. In the announcement (link below), the EPO announced that European Patent No...

WIPO Highlights Upcoming Dubai IP Conference

Posted on January 30, 2008
In a recent press release, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) highlighted its upcoming conference in Dubai to emphasize its strong concern regarding counterfeiting and piracy. As noted in the WIPO press announcement (link below), ?The Fourth Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy? will be held from February 3-5, 2008, including governmental officials from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, WIPO, and ?representatives of other international intergovernmental organizations, governments, regional and national enforcement agencies and business [] to identify solutions to the escalating problems of counterfeiting and piracy...

UK to Allow Computer Software Patents?

Posted on January 28, 2008
A ruling by the UK High Court appears to have paved a way for expanded patent protection in the UK similar to that generally available by the European Patent Office (?EPO?). In November, 2006, the UK Intellectual Property Office (?UK IPO?) issued a ?practice note? to state that computer programs alone generally did not constitute patentable subject matter...

CAFC Comments on use of ?a? and ?the? in Claims

Posted on January 24, 2008
Earlier this month, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (?CAFC?) decided an appeal based upon the use of commonly-used claim terminology, affirming-in-part, reversing-in-part, and remanding the case back to the district court. In Baldwin Graphic Systems, Inc...

USPTO Announces New Duty of Disclosure Declaration Requirement

Posted on January 23, 2008
The USPTO announced yesterday that as of June 1, 2008, it will no longer accept an oath or declaration as complying with 37 C.F.R. § 1.63(b)(3) unless it includes an acknowledgment that the declarant has a duty to disclose information material to patentability under 37 C...

CIPO Announces Revisions to Online Filings

Posted on January 21, 2008
On Friday, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) announced a few revisions to its online filing procedure, providing applicants with additional flexibility during the process. According to the CIPO news release (link below), the CIPO online patent application allows applicants ?who intend to claim small entity status? to sign the petition electronically with a ?low level signature,? noting that the low level signature allows the applicant to ?sign? a special section of the form...

USPTO Issues Several Patent Prosecution Highway Notices

Posted on January 18, 2008
The USPTO released a trio of notices this week regarding a specific aspect of its 21st Century Strategic plan, namely a procedure to partner with other intellectual property office to share search results and reduce the duplication of efforts. One particular procedure, the Patent Prosecution Highway (?PPH?), has had noted pilot successes and appears to be quickly expanding...

EPO Issues Warning Regarding Patent Registration Organizations

Posted on January 16, 2008
Although this particular warning was first issued in June, 2006, the European Patent Office re-issued an updated warning to patent applications regarding solicitations from patent registration organizations. The reissued warning (from January 8, 2008, noting the original June 29, 2006, warning date ? link below) notes that ?[n]umerous applicants and patent proprietors have informed the European Patent Office that firms and individuals using names, abbreviations or emblems that appear to be official have been inviting them to register patents in unofficial registers or publications...

USPTO Confirms Reasons Behind reCAPTCHA

Posted on January 14, 2008
On Friday, the USPTO issued a press release confirming my earlier post (January 4, 2008, link below) regarding the implementation of the reCAPTCHA system. According to the USPTO press release (link below), ?[t]he reCAPTCHA deployment was an immediate response to a system outage problem caused by bots...

Calendar of WIPO Events ? January, 2008

Posted on January 10, 2008
As previously referenced by the DDIP blog in December, 2007, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) makes available a calendar of conferences, meetings, and seminars, in Geneva, Switzerland, and elsewhere, along with event documentation when available...

You?re Welcome

Posted on January 09, 2008
If you have ever conducted patent business with the USPTO through its EFS-Web system and provided the USPTO with your e-mail address, you likely received a letter of gratitude from the Commissioner of Patents himself. John Doll, the present Commissioner of Patents for the USPTO, praised its e-Commerce customers, noting in part that ?[t]he success of our electronic filing system, EFS-Web, could not have been achieved without the dedication, patience, time and effort contributed by our customers and stakeholders...

How Quickly Are We Obtaining Patents?

Posted on January 07, 2008
Back in October, 2006, I compiled data regarding how quickly the U.S. Patent Office issues utility patents (link below). I began with the issue date of U.S. Patent No. 4,000,000 (December 28, 1976), and looked at how many days it took to issue the next 100,000 patents...

USPTO Implements Technology to Curb "Disruptive Use" of Public PAIR

Posted on January 04, 2008
Starting this month, the USPTO has implemented a new technology on its website in an attempt to curb "disruptive use" of at least one of its online databases. If you are a heavy user of USPTO database resources like I am, you likely also experienced a number of instances in the past couple of months where Public PAIR was either extremely slow or completely inaccessible...

USPTO Announces Changes in Publication Format

Posted on January 02, 2008
As noted in the December 26, 2007, Federal Register (link below), the USPTO has decided to revise some of its publication formats effective January 1, 2008. Specifically, the USPTO has discontinued its separate weekly publication of USPTO notices in paper form, and it has also discontinued its annual publication of the consolidated listing of notices pertaining to USPTO practices and procedures, which was also published in paper form...

The Daily Dose of IP blog will resume on Wednesday, January 2nd - Have a Safe and Happy New Year!

Posted on December 28, 2007
As noted in the December 26, 2007, Federal Register (link below), the USPTO has decided to revise some of its publication formats effective January 1, 2008. Specifically, the USPTO has discontinued its separate weekly publication of USPTO notices in paper form, and it has also discontinued its annual publication of the consolidated listing of notices pertaining to USPTO practices and procedures, which was also published in paper form...

So?Who Really Invented the Telephone?

Posted on December 27, 2007
As noted by a recent Associated Press article via Yahoo! News (link below), a new book appears to provide ?definitive evidence? that Alexander Graham Bell, the man recognized as being the inventor of the telephone, actually obtained his ideas from a rival inventor, Elisha Gray...

USPTO-JPO PPH Goes FT

Posted on December 26, 2007
It was recently announced that a joint effort between the USPTO and the Japanese Patent Office (JPO), the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), will soon be implemented on a full-time basis. The PPH effort began in July, 2006, as an initial feasibility study, and after noted successes by both office leaders, the program is scheduled to go full-time on January 4, 2008, one day after the initial part-time trial is scheduled to end...

The Daily Dose of IP blog will resume on Wednesday, December 26th - Happy Holidays!

Posted on December 21, 2007
It was recently announced that a joint effort between the USPTO and the Japanese Patent Office (JPO), the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), will soon be implemented on a full-time basis. The PPH effort began in July, 2006, as an initial feasibility study, and after noted successes by both office leaders, the program is scheduled to go full-time on January 4, 2008, one day after the initial part-time trial is scheduled to end...

Recent Forum Focused on IP for LDC Development

Posted on December 19, 2007
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently held a forum whereby ministers and a number of top officials from several least developed countries (LDCs) discussed the potential impact on intellectual property as a ?strategic tool? for helping those countries advance...

Netherlands to Phase-out Six-year Patent

Posted on December 17, 2007
It was recently announced that amendments to the Netherlands Patent Act of 1995 and the Implementation Decree of 1995 are undergoing a review and potential amendments, one of which is the discontinuation of the six-year patent. Aside from other changes (including the future ability to file Dutch applications in English and a number of fee changes as described in the Netherlands Patent Office link below), the Dutch six-year patent, which is generally granted without prior examination, is being phased out ?because the users feel that it offers to little legal security...

Is Christmas Eve a USPTO Holiday?

Posted on December 14, 2007
The USPTO announced today that it will indeed be closed on Christmas Eve (Monday, December 24th), and since Christmas Day (Tuesday, December 25th) is a traditional Federal holiday, any action or fees due on those two days and on Saturday, December 22nd, and Sunday, December 23rd, will now be due on Wednesday, December 26th...

WIPO Calendar & Document Search

Posted on December 13, 2007
While browsing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) website looking for something of particular interest to write about, I came across the ?Conferences, Meetings and Seminars? webpage. This particular webpage ?provides access to information about meetings held at WIPO and related documents comprising a detailed meeting calendar and a powerful document search facility...

USPTO Retiring Legacy Private PAIR

Posted on December 11, 2007
If you have ever conducted any online business with the USPTO, then you have probably received the USPTO?s notice by e-mail. For those who have not, the USPTO recently announced that its Legacy Private PAIR system will be retired on December 31, 2007...

USPTO to Host Independent Inventor Online Chat This Week

Posted on December 10, 2007
On Tuesday, December 11th, the USPTO will be hosting its next live online chat for independent inventors. This chat, to be held from 2:00 to 3:00PM EST, will include a number of senior officials from the USPTO answering questions in a continuing effort by the USPTO to ?promote and protect America?s independent inventors...

U.S. Department of Justice Supports RIAA Damage Award

Posted on December 06, 2007
Earlier this week the U.S. Department of Justice filed its brief in support of the argument that a $220,000 damage award in favor of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is constitutional. In October, 2007, the RIAA was successful in its claim against Jammie Thomas for copyright infringement of twenty-four (24) specific songs in suit by her use of the Kazaa file sharing service...

WIPO Hosted Economics of IP International Roundtable

Posted on December 05, 2007
Last week the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) hosted an international roundtable regarding to the economics of intellectual property (IP). According to the WIPO news release (link below), the International Roundtable on the Economics of Intellectual Property was held last week on November 27th and 28th and included 15 ?leading economists? reviewing the ?available economic literature in this field and identify empirical research projects that could be undertaken in developing countries and countries in transition...