Patent and Trademark Office March 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
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Electronic Submission of Notices of Appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Notices of Election, and Requests for Extension of Time for Seeking Judicial Review
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues this final rule to incorporate changes to the patent and trademark rules regarding judicial review of agency decisions, in particular how a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a notice of election to proceed by civil action in district court, and a request for extension of time for filing a notice of appeal or commencing a civil action must be filed. This final rule states that a notice of appeal, notice of election, and a request for extension of time for filing a notice of appeal or commencing a civil action must be filed with the Director of the USPTO by email, and in the event a request cannot be filed by email, it may be filed by Priority Mail Express[supreg].
WIPO Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Department of Commerce, requests public comments on negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) regarding a proposed Design Law Treaty (DLT). A diplomatic conference to finalize the DLT will be conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 11-22, 2024. Public comments are requested regarding the DLT. The negotiations at the Diplomatic Conference will be the culmination of years of discussions at the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs, and Geographical Indications (SCT). The provisions of the DLT will pertain to formalities associated with applications for the protection of industrial designs, and its adoption may result in changes to requirements associated with filing these applications in the United States.
Setting and Adjusting Trademark Fees During Fiscal Year 2025
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) proposes to set and adjust trademark fees, as authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), as amended by the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018 (SUCCESS Act). The proposed fee adjustments will provide the USPTO sufficient aggregate revenue to recover the aggregate costs of trademark operations in future years (based on assumptions and estimates found in the agency's Fiscal Year 2025 Congressional Justification (FY 2025 Budget)), including implementing the USPTO 2022-2026 Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan).
Signature Requirements Related to Acceptance of Electronic Signatures for Patent Correspondence
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is revising the rules of practice in patent cases to update the signature rule to provide for the broader permissibility of electronic signatures using third-party document-signing software, such as DocuSign[supreg] and Acrobat[supreg] Sign, and more closely align signature requirements with the rules of practice in trademark cases. The revised rules will provide additional flexibility and convenience to patent applicants and owners, practitioners, and other parties who sign patent-related correspondence, and promote consistency by establishing signature requirements which are common to both patent and trademark matters.
Resources for Examining Means-Plus-Function and Step-Plus-Function Claim Limitations
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a memorandum to the patent examining corps to assist patent examiners in addressing means-plus-function and step-plus-function claim limitations, and to create a clearer record for the applicant, the public, and the courts. The issued memorandum will help ensure consistent analysis by USPTO employees in addressing means-plus- function and step-plus-function limitations and will result in clearer communications to applicants from the USPTO as to the interpretation of means-plus-function and step-plus-function limitations and any related deficiencies. Clearer USPTO communications provide both the applicant and the public with notice as to the claim interpretation used by the patent examiner during prosecution, and if the applicant intends a different claim interpretation, the issue can be clarified early in prosecution.
Request for Comments: Unlocking the Full Potential of Intellectual Property by Translating More Innovation to the Marketplace
American innovation is a cornerstone of our strong, vibrant economy, with robust development of emerging and early-stage innovation spurring entrepreneurship and other economic activity. Intellectual property (IP) forms the bridge that moves innovation to impact for the benefit of society. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO, or the Agency) is committed to supporting translation of innovations to the marketplace through commercialization and is seeking public comment on how the agency can build on current initiatives to advance this commitment. The USPTO, with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Science Foundation (NSF), seeks input on new ways to unlock the potential of intellectual property for the public good by fostering pathways for innovation to reach the marketplace, with particular attention to green, critical, and emerging technologies.
Extension of the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot Program
On March 9, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot Program, which permits patent applications from certain micro entity first-time filers to be advanced out of turn for examination and reviewed earlier (accorded special status). The pilot program was originally scheduled to end on March 11, 2024. In view of the continued interest in the program, the USPTO is extending it until either March 11, 2025, or until the date on which the USPTO grants a total of 1,000 petitions since the start of the pilot program, whichever occurs first. All pilot parameters will remain the same as those for the original pilot.
Motion To Amend Practice and Procedures in Trial Proceedings Under the America Invents Act Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) proposes to update its rules governing amendment practice in trial proceedings under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) to make permanent certain provisions of the Office's motion to amend pilot program (MTA pilot program) and to revise the rules that allocate burdens of persuasion in connection with motions to amend (MTAs). The Office proposes to revise its rules of practice to provide for issuance of preliminary guidance in response to an MTA and to provide a patent owner with the option for filing one additional revised MTA. Further, the Office proposes to revise the rules to clarify that a preponderance of evidence standard applies to any new ground of unpatentability raised by the Board and to clarify that when exercising the discretion to grant or deny an MTA or to raise a new ground of unpatentability, the Board may consider all evidence of record in the proceeding, including evidence identified through a prior art search conducted by the Office at the Board's request and added to the record. These rules better ensure the Office's role of issuing robust and reliable patents, and the predictability and certainty of post-grant trial proceedings before the Board. These changes would apply to the existing consolidated set of rules relating to the Office trial practice for inter partes review (IPR), post-grant review (PGR), and derivation proceedings that implemented provisions of the AIA providing for trials before the Office.
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