On November 27, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC.[1] This case is discussed in a previous blog posting, but as a recap, the two parties in the litigation are both oil & gas companies, in which Oil States owned a patent …
Month: November 2017
SCOTUS Watch: Oil States Oral Hearing Preview
On November 27, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the appeal from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Oil States Energy Services v. Greene’s Energy Group.[1] Certiorari was granted earlier this year. The sole question presented is whether the inter partes reviews – adversarial proceedings held before the United States …
PTAB Releases Revision to Operating Procedures for Cases Remanded from Federal Circuit
On November 16, 2017, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) revised its Standard Operating Procedures 9 (SOP9) involving cases remanded for further review from the Federal Circuit. These standard operating procedures are administrative rules governing cases as they wind their way through the appeal or trial processes before the Board, and are designed to …
USPTO Finalizes New Patent Fee Schedule
On November 14, 2017, the USPTO issued its final rule on new fees for Fiscal Year 2017.[1] There are some marked increases, several moderate increases, some nominal increases, a few new fees, and some fees which have been eliminated altogether. The new fee schedule reflects a strategic goal for aligning fees to their associated costs …
The Slants’ Saga Ends: USPTO Registers Service Mark
On November 14, 2017, six years to the day after the application was first filed with the USPTO which precipitated the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Matal v. Tam[1] striking down the disparagement clause of Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, the USPTO has registered THE SLANTS service mark in International Class 41 for …
USPTO Issues Final Rule on Patent-Agent Privilege
On November 7, 2017, the USPTO issued its long-awaited new rule extending the USPTO’s attorney-client privilege to registered U.S. patent agents. The final rule can be found here.[1] This new rule has long been wanted by patent practitioners because, up until now, there existed a gray area of the practice which potentially prevented clients from …