On July 31, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) outlining proposed increases in patent fees in a number of categories. In particular, America Invents Act (AIA) fees are subject to a 26% increase, substantially more than the 5% increase in…
As the government shutdown continues, administrative agencies have been updating the public on their operating status. The FDA has released a statement on its website explaining that its operations will “continue to the extent permitted by law, such as activities necessary to address imminent threats to the safety of human…
The USPTO announced a proposal today to change the procedures for amending claims in post-grant proceedings. Even though the AIA specifically provides for claim amendments in IPRs, claim amendments have been rare in actual practice. USPTO Director Andrei Iancu stated that the new procedures are being proposed to allow patent…
Last month, Robert Bahr, Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy at the USPTO issued a memorandum to the Patent Examining Corps addressing written description of antibody claims. Many patents covering biological products contain antibody claims. A major focus of the USPTO memorandum is the Federal Circuit’s decision in Amgen v….