Consistent with its previous fee study authorized by Congress in 2022, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is increasing patent fees on a long list of categories. The study culminated in an official proposed fee schedule published in the Federal Register. The USPTO anticipates a gradual increase in the number of patent applications filed …
Category: fees
USPTO Trademark Fees Increasing This Month
Although USPTO fees typically increase, for different matters, every two years, this year’s increases are sweeping. According to the USPTO, policy rationales for the fee increases included in the published final rule: These rationales appear in line with forcing application efficiency, with most of the burden being carried by the applicant. Five to ten years …
DOCX Filing Requirement to Begin for Patent Applications
Today is the date in which new patent applications under 35 U.S.C. §111(a) (i.e., any U.S. nonprovisional application) must be filed using the .DOCX format, which is the file extension format used for Microsoft Word documents, as announced by the USPTO in a blog posting on December 19, 2022. This has been in planning for …
Trademark Scammer Sentenced
On September 15, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a Latvian citizen was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for masterminding a trademark mail fraud scheme. Rhett DeHart, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, also announced that defendant Viktors Suhorukovs has been ordered to pay $4.5 …
Small Entity Change for 2021
On December 21, 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office amended practice rule 37 C.F.R. §1.27, to expand the government use license exception. First, a Federal employee-inventor must be granted to the Federal government in the event that employee-inventor retains ownership rights in the invention. Further, and more significantly because it potentially covers more small-to-medium …
SCOTUS Watch: High Court Strikes Down USPTO Attorney’s Fees
On December 11, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s en banc ruling in Peter v. NantKwest, Inc.,[1] holding that the USPTO was not entitled to attorney’s fees under the 35 U.S.C. §145. Our discussion of the Fed Circuit’s en banc opinion, affirmed by the Supreme Court, was …
SCOTUS Watch: Costs Recovered Limited as Specified in Copyright Act
In the second copyright case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on March 4, 2019, Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc.,[1] the high court dealt with the question of whether “full costs” is more than the costs set forth in either 28 U.S.C. §1821 or §1920. Both Oracle and Rimini Street are competitors in …
SCOTUS Watch: Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Copyright Cost Row
On September 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc.,[1] in order to resolve a split in the circuits related to prevailing copyright litigant’s awarding of “full costs,” and whether that means only taxable costs under 28 U.S.C. §1920 – court and witness fees, copying costs, expert …
Fed Circuit Watch: Nexus Required Between Attorney Fees Award and Misconduct
Another recently unsealed opinion from August 15, 2018 revealed a decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit involving inequitable conduct and fee award. In the opinion dated July 28, 2018, in In re Rembrandt Techs., LP Patent Litigation,[1] the Fed Circuit held that while the district court did not abuse its discretion, …
IP Practicum: USPTO Proposes Patent Fee Increases for FY2019
On July 25, 2018, the USPTO submitted for publication a Federal Official Gazette notice of public hearing 2018-16432 pursuant to the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC). The notice specifies broad increases affecting patent filings and prosecution. It was published on August 8, 2018, in the Federal Gazette. While most of the fees are in the …