To the Blogosphere, And Beyond
New PTO Rules
Patent practitioners and others are keenly aware of the looming effective date for the new "claims and continuation" practice rules (November 1st, in case you forgot). Here are what people are saying about the pending rules.
- Peter Weissman at Blank Rome suggests that "[i]t may be prudent to describe patentably “distinct” subject matter in separate applications rather than combining common subject matter in a single application. This could support an argument that the claims are truly patentably distinct"
- Dr. Charles F. Louis, Vice Chancellor for Research, University of California, Riverside said in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committe "any rules promulgated by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that make it more burdensome and expensive for universities to obtain patents on their inventions, such as the new claims and continuation rules, would be detrimental to university technology transfer." (Source: IPWatchdog)
- Hal Wegman at Foley notes that "[i]f cloture is voted by the Senate on patent reform and ultimately patent reform includes the House-passed version on delegation of rulemaking authority, whatever happens in the near term on Continuation Rules will be superseded by the new law. Yet, the great bulk of the focus of the patent community is on the sideshow in Alexandria." (Source: PatentHawk)
- That "sideshow" includes GlaxoSmithKline's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction to halt implementation of the new PTO rules. A hearing on GSK's motion is set for October 31, 2007.
Favorable Patent Lawsuit Forums
Move over Eastern District of Texas, more and more other districts are being eyed as the place to file patent lawsuits, especially since patent reform will make it harder to go forum shopping. Take the Western District of Wisconsin, for example, mention of which continues to be linked with terms like "speedy justice." The Wisconsin court boasts a filing-to-trial time of 11.3 months, which compares to a pokey 12 months at the Eastern District of Virginia (the average, in case you're wondering, is about 22 months, so says Dewey Ballentine co-authors last year in an IPToday article).
Patent Reform
It's no secret that the bio industry is against patent reform. At last week's 2007 Mid-Atlantic Bio Conference, held in Bethesda, MD, a representative from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) made the organization's views plainly clear in a presentation about patent reform legislation. Saying that bio was being thrown in front of the bus to save the IT industry, BIO urged member organizations to call their Senators to fight passage of the legislation.
Tired of Trademark Oppositions? Call Your Senator
In an opinion issued last week relating to a lawsuit against the PTO, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an Eastern District of Virginia decision, effectively sanctioning the practice used by Montana Congressmen of using the political appropriations process to halt the registration of the trademark THE LAST BEST PLACE, which was being sought by a Nevada company. Hopefully, I'll have more on this later (here's a preview: "Senate approves ‘Last Best' measure").
