A proposed bill offers a potential boon to patent owners. If passed, the “Facilitating Innovation to Fight Coronavirus Act” will add ten years to the patent term of eligible inventions. However, the bill will temporarily curtail patent owner enforcement rights. Passage is not certain, …›
Joe Adamczyk, Anita Choi, and Michael Ward authored an article for Law360 covering the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) decision to begin accepting petitions for the fast-track appeals pilot program, a new program aimed at shaving off time during ex parte appeal. “Appeals entered …›
On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its much anticipated guidance on the licensure of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines. According to the New York Times, there are currently over 145 COVID-19 vaccines in development across the globe with 20 in human …›
Recognizing the need for companies to quickly get products to market that might help combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Patent & Trademark Office is now paving the way for shorter examination timelines for qualifying trademark applications. This could prove especially useful in …›
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced a review and open comment period for the Health Breach Notification Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 318 (the “Rule”), which requires vendors of personal health records (PHR) and related entities that aren’t covered by HIPAA to provide notice …›
A bipartisan group of experts in economics, health, technology, and ethics recommended that the U.S. scale up COVID-19 testing—5 million per day by June, 20 million per day by midsummer—in order to fully re-mobilize the economy. Consistent with this, FDA has taken various steps to …›
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a Prioritized Examination Pilot Program for COVID-19-related patent applications. To qualify, an applicant must be a small entity or micro-entity and the application must contain at least one claim covering products or process that are …›
The increase in AI-related patent filings in the past few years has given rise to unique questions about the current patent system. In particular, the question of whether an AI system can or should be named as an inventor on a patent application has …›
Serology tests could play a critical role in the fight against COVID-19. Serology tests may help determine who can donate convalescent plasma—a part of the blood containing antibodies—which is currently being explored as an investigational treatment for those with COVID-19. Convalescent plasma has been …›
Patent applicants facing a funds shortage because of COVID-19 may be glad to hear that many patent offices have extended certain patent prosecution deadlines. For example, the U.S. Patent Office has extended various patent deadlines until June 1, 2020 and the European Patent Office …›