This column highlights some of the more notable recent internet notices, newsletters and blogs dealing with IP prosecution issues.

Hal Wegner’s email newsletter – a lot of great stuff – Contact: hwegner@foley.com.
Hal’s blog is also available at www.laipla.net/news-blog/blog.

  • On December 14, 2013, Hal commented on the legal issues relating to the Michelle Lee appointment as “Acting as Director” of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  • In his December 19, 2013 post, Professor Wegner discussed a claim scope disclaimer based on a statement in a patent abstract, as found in AstraZeneca AB v. Hanmi USA, Inc., 2013-1490 (Fed. Cir., Dec. 19, 2013).

IPWatchdog – a patents and patent law blog IPwatchdog.com

  • The December 17, 2013 guest post explains potential conseqences of new patent legislation for small entity patent applicants.

Patent Docs – A patent blog – patentdocs.typepad.com/patent_docs

  • The December 16, 2013 blog entry describes the USPTO final rules to implement the Patent Law Treaty (PLT), taking effect December 18, 2013.

Patently-O – a blog written by Dennis Crouch – www.patentlyo.com.

  • The December 3, 2013 post announced that the USPTO has extended the After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 program to end on September 30, 2014.
  • A January 7, 2014 post explains an emerging downward trend in the percent of patents obtaining patent term adjustment.

USPTO – the PTO’s website – uspto.gov

  • The December 3, 2013 Official Gazette announced that rule changes to implement the Patent Law Treaty become effective December 18, 2013.
  • The December 18, 2013 press release (Press Release 13-40) mentioned that the USPTO was named the #1 best place to work in the federal government by the Partnership for Public Service. The  announcement did not mention if lack of proper director appointment procedures was a factor in the rankings.
  • The December 31, 2013 Official Gazette provided a notice of proposed rules to implement the Hague Agreement for international registration of industrial designs.

AIPLA – the profession’s national organization – see AIPLA.org

  • From January 29, through February 1, 2014, the AIPLA holds its Mid-Winter Institute in Phoenix, Arizona.

Miscellaneous –

  • The Chisum Patent Academy holds upcoming patent law seminars on March 5-7, 2014 (Cincinnati, Ohio); August 13-15, 2014 (Seattle, Washington); and August 18-20, 2014 (Seattle, Washington). There are a possible 18 CLE credits for these seminars. More info at http://www.chisum-patent-academy.com/.

For more information about any of the patent topics mentioned consult Patent Application Practice. Trademark topics are discussed in Trademark Registration Practice. Both are published by West and updated twice a year. For litigation questions, contact Fred Douglas at 949/293-0442 or by email at fdouglas@cox.net.