Posts Tagged: "patent pendency"

Pre-Grant Publication – The perilous deviation from the patent bargain that causes long patent application pendencies

The fundamental patent bargain has been perilously breached by forcing publication on every application. Sound policy would have avoided upsetting the core patent bargain – disclosure upon grant of exclusive rights – and would have provided an equitable incremental quid-pro-quo: applicants can reap the additional optional benefit of deferral of examination for several years in exchange for early disclosure of their application. That way, applicants who do not wish to defer examination would then be unaffected and their core patent bargain would have been undisturbed – disclosure only upon grant of exclusive rights… Those who push for 18-month publication of all applications have it all backwards. Non-publication is not the problem – it is the solution.

Time to Disposition: Some Art Units Really Are Slower

“Time is money” rings especially true for those pursuing patents at the USPTO. Anyone who has previously dealt with this organization can attest to the fact that it is slow moving and extremely costly. Being that this single government entity is charged with processing upwards of 600,000 patent applications per year, the speed at which it operates is unsurprising. However, what is surprising is the substantial variance in speed at which each technology center and individual art unit operates. For example, technology center 2900 has the quickest average time to disposition while technology center 2400 has the slowest.

The Unforeseen Impact of Alice

The fact is, patent examiners are struggling with the application of 35 USC 101 in light of the Alice decision just as much as everyone else. Greater uncertainty among both patent applicants and patent examiners surely increases the likelihood of disagreement between them. Thus, the Alice decision will not just increase the number of rejections under 35 USC 101, but is also likely to result in more rebuttals by applicants and more appeals of examiner decisions. A loss in patent examination efficiency, even if small, will act as a headwind against further reductions in patent pendency.

PTO Seeks Public Comment on Patent Pendency

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is seeking public input to determine the optimal first action and total pendency target levels for patents… The Patent Office believes that by reviewing the optimal pendency levels the Office will be in a better position to plan for patent examination staffing levels and other agency resource requirements. Furthermore, revised or reaffirmed target goals for pendency will inform patent fee levels and revenue estimates during the biennial patent fee review.

Track One By the Numbers. What are you Waiting for?

The USPTO has returned to the historical philosophy that patent examiners should work cooperatively with patent applicants to identify allowable subject matter and issue patents on what is allowable, not just focusing on rejection after rejection after rejection. While there are quite a few positive changes, with more in the works, Track One is by far the most successful policy initiative that has come to bear during the Kappos Administration. The only problem with Track One is that more applicants are not using it! What are you waiting for? A look at the numbers shows that Track One is a huge success and ought to be employed far more than it has been.