Director Iancu will be appearing for his first oversight hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, April 18. This follows on his recent speech at the Chamber of Commerce, at which he emphasized two areas of focus: Patent rights should be more predictable and the system should be more stable. When discussing the patent system, dialogue should be more…
Tag Archive for patent quality
What’s In A Name? At The Patent Office, Possibly More Than You Think
by Josh Landau • • 2 Comments
In an ideal world, patent examiners are perfect neutral arbiters. They find the best prior art and always make the right decision as to whether an idea is new and entitled to a patent. In this world, we wouldn’t need inter partes review or validity challenges in court—examiners would get it right the first time.…
April Madness Is Here
by Josh Landau • • 1 Comment
March Madness is over, with the Big Ten not taking home a championship. (A sad day for Michigan fans like me.) But that’s okay—in April, the Big Ten Network has plenty to keep busy with. Baseball, softball, tennis, track and field, rowing… And patent lawsuits. At-Home Broadcasting About a decade ago, the Big Ten created…
Fee-Setting Reauthorization Bill Introduced In Senate
by Josh Landau • • 1 Comment
Senator Coons has long been interested in strengthening patents. While some of his efforts, like the STRONGER Patents Act, would actually harm the U.S.’s innovation economy by strengthening patents at the expense of innovation, his latest bill is different. Last week, Senator Coons (along with Senator Hatch) introduced the Building Innovation Growth through Data for…
“The Same Or Substantially The Same Prior Art Or Arguments”
by Josh Landau • • 1 Comment
Director Andrei Iancu has been making the rounds since his confirmation. In a recent interview, he suggested that “[t]here is, for sure, a perception problem in the IP community with the PTAB” and that “when you have a perception problem you have a real problem in the sense that if the IP community loses faith…
Granted In 19 Hours
by Josh Landau • • 2 Comments
Patent examiners have an extremely hard job. They’re given a patent application—which could be anywhere from a page long up to hundreds of pages, with patent claims ranging from a couple sentences to pages of description—and expected to understand the technology behind the application, look for any possible examples of prior art, describe how the…
Chamber of Commerce Patent System Ranking Is Built On A Shaky Foundation
by Josh Landau • • 4 Comments
The Chamber of Commerce produces a yearly ranking of intellectual property systems around the world. This year, they dropped the U.S. patent system to 12th. If I thought their rankings had any merit, I might be concerned by this change. Unfortunately, their analysis is flawed and based on complete misrepresentations of reality. So, What Happened?…
Innovation Is Alive And Well—R&D
by Josh Landau • • 3 Comments
As part of Patent Progress’ series on innovation in the United States, we are examining ways to measure innovation. One useful metric, measuring the investment being made in the creation of new and innovative technologies, is research and development spending. This metric tends to show the investment in innovation, in particular by larger companies. And…
Dear Director Iancu
by Josh Landau • • 5 Comments
So, you’re Andrei Iancu, about to be the newly confirmed Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. What are the first things you put on your agenda? I have some suggestions. Eliminate Contingent Amendments As an initial matter, the PTAB’s practice of allowing contingent amendments needs to end. Essentially, this allows patent owners…
Patent Links and Articles To Read By The Fire
by Josh Landau •
With the weather as cold as it’s been in DC lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading by the fire. And what better way to use that time than to read about patents! For those of you, like me, for whom that sounds like fun—here’s a few things I’ve run across lately that…