Welcome to our new home
A warm welcome to our new home on the web. As many of you might have figured out, PHOSITA (and her writers at Dunlap Codding) have been a bit busy with various activities and projects these past many months.
Ok – who are we kidding, 2008 has been a very quiet and slow year for PHOSITA. Well, all of that is coming to an end!
As 2008 draws to a close, 2009 is gearing up to be a barnburner of a year for PHOSITA. A new firm name. New PHOSITA authors. Same old PHOSITA attitude and character.
As we announced yesterday, Dunlap Codding has a new managing director – Nicholas D. Rouse – and we “institutionalized” our firm name to honor the two individuals who led us with integrity and passion the past 50 years.
What else is going on in Oklahoma City, Washington, DC (and Austin in near future)? In order to find out – stay tuned.
We wish all of our friends, colleagues and supporters a joyous holiday season and a New Year filled with laughter and health.
See you in 2009!
Posted by Douglas Sorocco, December 24, 2008 at 10:58 am
Permalink: Welcome to our new home
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pto website finally updated
Well, it looks like the USPTO finally updated the front page “news” on their website. I took some time off watching it to help the trick or treaters out, so I am not sure what time it officially “went live”.
So – kudos to the USPTO for taking approximately 7–8 hours to get notification up about the injunction to the patent community.
So – patent community, 7–8 hours. WSJ – almost instantaneous reaction.
Posted by Douglas Sorocco, October 31, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Permalink: pto website finally updated
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pto official communication to examining corps
Well – it appears that the USPTO has sent around a memorandum to the entire examining corps informing them of the injunction.
If you want to see the document, click here: PTO Notice.pdf (973 KB).
Fairly routine and it doesn’t convey much information… but, it is now 6:10pm Eastern Time and still no word or information to the patent community.
No email.
No website information.
No phone call.
You would think they didn’t want people to know.
Posted by Douglas Sorocco, at 5:11 pm
Permalink: pto official communication to examining corps
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2:47pm Eastern – Why no news from USPTO?
Hmmm…. As Steve, Matt and I have been noticing – it is 2:47pm Eastern time and the USPTO website still has no news relating to the injunction issued this morning.
They, of course, still have up the warning about the Nov. 1st implementation from last week but they apparently cannot update the website with the news that they lost and the rules will not go into effect tomorrow.
What ever are they waiting for?
Update: 4:47pm Eastern – Still no word.
It is coming up on the close of the business day at the USPTO and there is still no word on the front page of the USPTO’s website allerting patentees that the Nov. 1st implementation of the rules has been enjoined.
No email.
No website.
No phone call.
As the administrator of the entire patent system in the U.S., don’t they have an obligation (actual or implied) to notify their stakeholders about the injunction?
As Matt said, they had time to speak with the WSJ – why don’t they have the time to speak to their stakeholders?
Posted by Douglas Sorocco, at 1:51 pm
Permalink: 2:47pm Eastern – Why no news from USPTO?
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All New PatentFizz – The Good Stuff Always Rises to the Top
All around intellectual property and web wunderkind Matt Buchanan has taken his hugely popular PatentFizz site to the next level this past week – bold new colors, new layouts, and useful new content and tools.
According to Matt, on his summer vacation he has been anything but slothful:
You’ll notice right away that the site has been completely redesigned. It’s a bit easier on the eyes, you might say. The FizzDisplay pages present the abstract, claims, and bibliographic information in an attractive, easy to read format that loads quickly. The FizzDisplay is sweet, instant gratification.
The improvements are not just cosmetic, though. Nope….PatentFizz has an impressive slate of all new features designed to more effectively deliver patent-based information. I’ll be detailing these features on Fizzure, the PatentFizz blog, over the coming weeks, so be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed.
We failed to mention last month that PatentFizz was featured as part of the Economist magazine’s article on patent commenting, examination and intelligence sites.
Check it out and if you have some “scoop” on a particular patent and be sure to share it with the world!
Posted by Douglas Sorocco, October 3, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Permalink: All New PatentFizz – The Good Stuff Always Rises to the Top
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Dunes CLE – Vegas Legal Fun!
Dunes CLE has all the fun – all the while providing an informative and 
timely panel of experts on intellectual property matters. It can’t get much better than a little gaming, some sun, a beverage of your choice after a day of in-depth legal information.
Dunes’ Fall, 2007 seminar is rapidly approaching on October 12th at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. The theme of the conference is “Current Issues in Patent Law 2007″ and features a double helping of J. Matthew Buchanan updating everyone on Patent Law and Policy Updates from within the legislative, executive and judicial realm.
Other topics include:
- Inequitable Conduct After McKesson: Has The “Plague” Returned? – Thomas M. Hardman
- USPTO Claims and Continuation Practice Files Rules: Where Are We Now? – Mark Sandbaken
- Statutory Subject Matter in 2007 and Beyond – Robert Ryan Morishita
- The Supreme Court’s Decision in KSR v. Teleflex – Eric L. Maschoff
PHOSITA has been an avid fan of Dunes’ from the beginning – and, as they say, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!
Posted by Douglas Sorocco, September 16, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Permalink: Dunes CLE – Vegas Legal Fun!
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Tell the USPTO what you think.
Although we have all seen how important the USPTO believes our comments to be on substantive issues, they have asked me to post this so readers of PHOSITA can weigh in.
Complex Work Units Pilot at the USPTO
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is seeking participants for a Complex Work Units (CWUs) Pilot Program scheduled for late 2007. CWUs are chemical structure drawings, mathematical formulae, protein crystal data, and table data, which often add significant complexity and cost to the examination and publication of patent applications in which they are contained.
The CWU Pilot Program will be conducted in an effort to:
- Investigate filing practice options for CWUs
- Gather information about existing CWU formats and their use in the Intellectual Property community
- Evaluate rule changes to allow applicants to submit CWU files
- Determine other acceptable file types
The pilot will allow applicants to submit original source files for CWUs through EFS-Web or on a CD, supplementing the traditionally-filed application parts. The CWU source file submissions will not be considered when calculating the application size fee, which will reduce the cost of filing for pilot participants.
The USPTO is requesting participants in an effort to gather more information about CWUs from the intellectual property community. If you have any questions or would like to participate in CWU Pilot activities, please send an e-mail to cwupilotsupport@uspto.gov today!
Posted by Douglas Sorocco, August 9, 2007 at 9:41 am
Permalink: Tell the USPTO what you think.
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Legal Imperatives on Intellectual Property Management
Market Research Reports has released a new title on intellectual property asset management and protection entitled “Legal Imperatives on Intellectual Property Management”.
It appears to be an interesting read, although not inexpensive (550 Euros). If any PHOSITA readers have a copy, let me know your thoughts/reactions so other readers can make an informed decision on purchasing.
From the Market Research Website:
Only in recent decades have issues related to the protection of intellectual property rights come to be seen as significant sources of legal and business uncertainty. In part, this uncertainty derives from the fact that intellectual property is importantly different from physical property. Intellectual property can be stolen by an act as simple as broadcasting an idea without the permission of the originator. — Former Federal Reserve Chairman Allan Greenspan in his remarks at a 2004 conference on Economic Policy Research, at Stanford University
The business landscape is littered with intellectual property landmines. Microsoft, Apple Computer, Sun Microsystems, Medtronic, Research in Motion and Nintendo are just a few of the companies that have settled patent infringement disputes for hundreds of millions of dollars. Toshiba paid a $425 million judgment to Lexar for violating trade secrets. Pfizers patents for Viagra were ruled invalid in China and Microsoft faces similar concerns over its Office product in South Korea. In the battle of protecting intellectual property, the IP lawyer is on the front lines. It is the IP lawyer who:
-Drafts the patent applications, knowing that the defensibility of the firms intellectual capital hangs on each word that the IP lawyer crafts.
-Must have the prescience to secure valuable IP rights throughout the world in anticipation of his company later doing business in remote markets.
-Must defend his company against attacks by patent trolls.
-Must have the business savvy to transform fierce litigation into mutually beneficial licensing agreements.
-Must retain patent, trademark, and copyright exclusivity while avoiding anti-trust challenges.
This report includes interviews with many of the nations foremost authorities on the intellectual property law. Intellectual Property Litigation is extremely expensive and becoming increasingly common. From 1984 to 1999, the mean loss absorbed by companies faced with IP litigation was $28.7 million in total losses. Microsoft, Apple Computer, Sun Microsystems, Medtronic, Research in Motion and Nintendo are just a few of the companies that have settled patent infringement disputes for hundreds of millions of dollars. Cisco Systems reports that it is named as a defendant in at least one IP lawsuit each week.
Posted by Douglas Sorocco, July 30, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Permalink: Legal Imperatives on Intellectual Property Management
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Patent Reform – Getting Ready for the August Recess
Patent reform is the buzzword around the patent world right now and, for once, the news is not limited to geeks, wonks and inventors. The mass media appears to have gotten the “patent reform” bug as well – although, it appears that the “fixing the ridiculous” meme is taking hold.
For example:
Congress tackles patent-law reform — via the baltimoresun.com
WASHINGTON – Crustless peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, a way to move sideways on a swing, a technique for exercising cats using a laser pointer – these are among the inventions patented in the United States over the years.
Now Congress is trying to cut down on poor-quality or downright ridiculous patents, and at the same time adapt the patent system to a high-tech era in which computers and other electronic devices might contain thousands of patentable parts.
We will be exploring all things patent reform here at Phosita during the month of August, so send us your stories, frustrations and rumors. Of course, we will not reveal your name, slant or employer – so, send it to: douglas.sorocco+reformtip@gmail.com
See you in August!
Posted by Douglas Sorocco, July 29, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Permalink: Patent Reform – Getting Ready for the August Recess
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New FedCirc.us Search Tool Released
The master plan for the FedCirc.us site includes several web features designed to deliver patent caselaw information in a more effective manner. The first – the GimmeTen! feature – has quickly become the most popular page on the site…and for good reason. Not familiar with it? Simply bookmark http://10.fedcirc.us and visit regularly. That page always provides concise summaries of the ten most recently posted case reviews. We’re confident you’ll quickly be hooked.
Today we announce the second feature in our bag of tricks – 
the travelling FedCirc.us search engine. By following the steps below, you’ll be able to search the FedCirc.us site from anywhere on the web.
The best part is the simplicity — 5 easy steps (4 for most people). Five minutes tops.
1. Make sure you’re using either Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox 2.0 as your browser. If you’re not, download the latest IE here or Firefox here (both are free). For the record, FedCirc.us is optimized for Firefox.
2. Start your browser.
3. Visit FedCirc.us.
4. Pull down the drop-down search box in the upper right hand corner and select “Add FedCirc.us” (in Firefox) or select “FedCirc.us” with the gold star next to it (in IE, see image at right).
5. Surf the web. Whenever you want to search the site, simply enter a search string in the box in the right hand corner, pull down the list, select FedCirc.us, and hit return. 
You can do this from any page on the web…and you’ll immediately be transported to a listing of search results from the site.
I’ve quickly gotten used to searching by party name or full case name as I’m reading on the web. This little trick has changed my surfing habits for the better…it’s a wonderfully efficient way to find information quickly. We hope you find it useful as well.
As always, if you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know. You can e-mail Matt directly at jmb @ rtipllc.com.
Enjoy!
Posted by Douglas Sorocco, February 15, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Permalink: New FedCirc.us Search Tool Released
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