Wolf Greenfield Attorneys Preview What’s Ahead in 2024
Under the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) modernization efforts, the time between paying the issue fee and issuance of the patent is being reduced. Faster patent issuance gives patent applicants less time...more
On April 15, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) informed the public that, effective May 13, 2025, the USPTO will be accelerating the process for issuing patents. Currently, the time between Issue...more
Unity of invention and double patenting law and practice in Canada can create challenges for patent applicants. For example, applicants may not expect a unity of invention objection to be raised, requiring claims to be...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a “final rule” to fee adjustments for patent applications and appeals, effective January 19, 2025. These changes represent some of the most significant changes to the...more
What Congress has guaranteed, the courts have taken away - The Supreme Court is about to receive a Petition for Certiorari in a case that impacts how long a patent protects new inventions, we expect. Specifically, the case...more
The Federal Circuit decided a question left open during a recent spate of opinions involving the judicially created doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting (ODP): the effect patent term adjustment (PTA) can (or should)...more
What is a utility patent? The definition of a utility patent is a patent that covers “any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.”...more
In the continuously evolving world of intellectual property law, 2018 was another milestone year. The US Supreme Court and Federal Circuit continued to define key aspects of intellectual property (IP) law including: •...more
Berkheimer v. HP Inc., Appeal No. 2017-1437 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 8, 2018) - In Berkheimer v. HP Inc., the Federal Circuit reviewed the District Court’s summary judgment finding that certain claims of a patent were invalid as...more
Patenting - Patenting generally offers a superior means for legally protecting most inventions, particularly since: • copyright, when available, does not provide a broad scope of protection; and • the...more