Posts in Government
WIPO Prepares to Elect New Director General
There are 10 candidates declared to succeed Francis Gurry as WIPO Director General, when he retires in September this year after serving two six-year terms. One of them …
House Small Business Committee Tackles Diversity Gap in Patenting Debate
The House Small Business Committee met earlier today for a hearing titled “Enhancing Patent Diversity for America’s Innovators,” in which members of Congress heard from witnesses …
A Global Look at Post Grant Patent Maintenance Fees
A patent maintenance fee is an official fee that is payable at prescribed intervals to a national patent office over the lifecycle of a patent application or …
This Week in Washington IP: Increasing Inventor Diversity, USCMA Implementation and EU Investments Into R&D
This week in Washington-based IP events, the Senate will host a series of committee hearings to explore the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) implementation bill recently passed by …
Arthrex Update: With Responses Due Next Week, Amici Urge Federal Circuit to Grant Rehearing
In December, petitions for rehearing were filed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by each party involved in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & …
Case Law and Policy Changes in PTAB Practice During 2019
Despite the possibility that the judges of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) may have been unconstitutionally appointed, as held recently by a Federal Circuit panel, …
Retired USPTO Commissioner for Trademarks Mary Boney Denison Recounts Her Career and the Challenges Ahead for the Office
On December 31, the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) Commissioner for Trademarks, Mary Boney Denison, retired from her position with the agency. Denison joined …
USMCA Takes Another Step Forward in 25-3 Senate Committee Vote
The United States Senate Finance Committee today considered the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in an Open Executive Session and voted 25 to 3 to move the bill forward.
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This Week in Washington IP: Voting System Security, USMCA Implementation and Consumer Deception on the Internet
This week in Washington D.C., Capitol Hill remains rather quiet as both houses of Congress begin to return from the holiday recess. However, the House of …
The USPTO Will No Longer Accept PCT Collaborative Search and Examination Requests
Earlier today, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it will no longer accept requests to participate in the IP5 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) …
Links to China Prompt Purge at Moffitt Cancer Center
Underscoring the seriousness of the threat posed by the Chinese government's campaign to obtain results of U.S. publicly funded research, the Board of Directors at the …
State Pharmaceutical Importation Programs Threaten Patients and Innovation
In mid-December, President Trump presented a plan to lower prescription drug prices by allowing states, drug wholesalers and pharmacies to import some cheaper drugs from Canada. While …
Parallel Imports Officially Authorized in Ukraine, But Not for All Goods
In November, 2019, amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine regarding the protection of intellectual property rights when moving goods across the customs border came into force. The …
The Top 10 Patent Stories of the Decade 2010 – 2019: Part II
As we explained in Part I of this series yesterday, this December marks the end of a decade as well as 2019. In reflecting on the top 10 patent …
Trusting Your Secrets to the Government
According to Merriam-Webster, the “Word of the Year for 2019 is “they” when used in the singular, typically to avoid ascribing a gender to the person being referred …
