Source: https://www.nutter.com/trending-newsroom-publications-IP-Bulletin-January-2010-01-22-2010
Timestamp: 2019-09-15 18:31:13
Document Index: 347331363

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 154', '§ 251', '§ 251', '§ 251', '§ 112', '§ 112']

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Has Been Miscalculating Patent Term Adjustment
The Federal Circuit recently decided Wyeth and Elan Pharma Int’l Ltd. v. Kappos (Appeal No. 2009-1120, January 7, 2010) affirming that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been miscalculating, and typically under-calculating, patent term adjustment (PTA). A patent is valid for 20 years from its filing date; PTA extends the effective term of a patent due to delays in its issuance. Under 35 U.S.C. § 154(b), a patent can receive a term adjustment for, among other things, (A) delays caused by the USPTO in meeting certain examination deadlines and (B) each day that issuance of the patent is delayed longer than 3 years due to delays by the USPTO. These delays are subject to an “overlap limitation,” which says the “the period of any adjustment granted…shall not exceed the actual number of the days the issuance of the patent was delayed.” The dispute in this case centered on the interpretation of how to calculate the actual number of days the issuance of the patent was delayed in an overlap situation. The Federal Circuit sided against the USPTO’s method of calculation, and as a result the decision may give many patent holders an increase in patent term. Patent owners should consider reviewing any PTA calculations provided by the USPTO and compare the USPTO’s calculation to the post-Wyeth calculation method.
For more information, including an exemplary calculation of patent term adjustment, the USPTO’s response to Wyeth, and procedures for seeking review of patent term adjustment, click here.
In only their fourth precedential decision of 2009, the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) in Ex Parte Tanaka (December 9, 2009, Appeal No. 2009-000234) considered permissible bases under 35 U.S.C. § 251 for a patent to be eligible for reissue. This decision by an expanded panel expressly overturns any contrary precedent that allowed reissue based on a submission of one or more narrower claims as a hedge against potential invalidity of the issued claims. A reissue application must satisfy § 251, which requires that through error without deceptive intent, a patent be wholly or partly inoperative or invalid because of defects in the specification or drawings or because the patentee claimed more or less than he is entitled to. The BPAI held that merely submitting a narrower claim to hedge against possible invalidity of the original claims, without particularly identifying any inoperability or invalidity of any of the issued claims, is not sufficient grounds for reissue. In light of this decision, patent practitioners considering reissue should carefully evaluate whether their bases for reissue satisfy the requirements of § 251.
A copy of the Tanaka opinion can be found on the USPTO website at the following link.
Late last year in Ex Parte Rodriguez (October 1, 2009, Appeal No. 2008-000693), the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) ruled that a claim in means-plus-function format was invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph, as being indefinite because structure other than a computer, i.e., an algorithm, was not provided in the specification for performing claimed functions. This precedential decision thus serves as a helpful reminder to patent application drafters of the importance of clearly identifying structure in the specification for every means-plus-function claim element and of carefully considering whether a claim is a means-plus-function claim despite omitting the traditional means-plus-function claim phrase “means for.” The BPAI further determined that non-means-plus-function claims are invalid under § 112, first paragraph, as not being enabled if they do not particularly identify structure, i.e., an algorithm, for performing the claimed functions. Ex Parte Rodriguez also highlights the BPAI’s power to introduce new grounds of rejection, a potential hazard practitioners are prudent to consider in deciding whether to appeal rejected claims.
A copy of the Rodriguez opinion can be found on the USPTO website at the following link.
For further discussion of the three types of Chinese patent rights and practical tips, click here.
Except you can’t... Click here to find out why and how requesting the Copyright Office to accord your application “Special Handling” can save the day.
The USPTO has announced a “Green Technology Pilot Program” in which an applicant may have an application accorded special status and thereby be examined more quickly. The pilot program was implemented on December 8, 2009 and is made available to applications pertaining to environmental quality, energy conservation, development of renewable energy resources, and greenhouse gas emission reduction. To participate in the program, an application must have a filing date earlier than December 8, 2009, and the applicant must file a petition to make special with the USPTO before December 8, 2010 and before a first Office Action is issued. There is no fee required for participating in the program, but the USPTO will accept only the first 3000 petitions to make special.