Who doesn’t like to cut to the front of a long line?  In certain situations, the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and Patent Cooperation Treaty-Patent Prosecution Highway (PCT-PPH) programs may provide for innovators to do just that. The PPH and PCT...

When is PPH or PCT-PPH Possibly a Good Idea? There are certain situations where it may be advantageous to use the PPH or PCT-PPH programs, recognizing that this is a case-by-case basis analysis that requires careful consideration of a number of factors...

             Alleged patent infringers have been increasingly using claims of Inequitable Conduct on the part of a patent holder as a defense when being sued for patent infringement.  If a court finds that a patent holder failed to disclos...

The average length of time for a utility patent to issue is four years from filing.  In most cases, patent applications do not receive an initial review for at least a year from filing.  This extended examination process is undesirable for inventors ...

The Supreme Court’s June 28, 2010 decision in Bilski v. Kappos will be remembered as a case in which the Supreme Court refused to categorically deny protection to business methods.  In what was arguably the most eagerly anticipated patent case ever,...

In the recent case of Egyptian Goddess, Inc. v. Swisa, Inc., 543 F.3d 665, 678 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (en banc), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit revised the legal standard for proving infringement in a design patent lawsuit.  Prior to this...

Section 292 of Title 35 of the United States Code relates to false marking of unpatented articles/goods as “patented” or “patent pending.”  Specifically, the 35 USC 292 states: “Whomever marks upon, or affixes to, or uses...