Gene Quinn of IPWATCHDOG.COM has a troubling an interesting post about the USPTO from the inside. For anyone curious as to why the allowance rate has dropped below 50% (it is presently at 42%), and why the quality of examination has declined so much in recent years, I recommend taking a few minutes to read…
How To Respond To Enablement Rejections – Part I
This post is the first of a two-part series on the enablement requirement. This first installment discusses some of the fundamentals of the requirement, relevant law, and the standards for compliance. The second installment will provide examples of responses to enablement rejections. The Basis for the Enablement Requirement The enablement requirement arises from the first…
Examples Of Strategic Uses Of Requests For Continued Examination (RCEs)
This is the second part of a two-part discussion of RCEs and the submission requirement. In my earlier post here, I discussed legal principles about RCEs and some RCE strategy. This post presents and discusses some additional strategic uses for RCEs beyond reopening/continuing prosecution after a final Office action. An RCE can be used to…
Requesting Withdrawal Of The Finality Of An Office Action
This post discusses requests to withdraw finality. Under the USPTO’s policy of compact prosecution discussed here, a second office action may properly be made final under most circumstances. The circumstances are set forth in §706.07(a) of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP), entitled Final Rejection, When Proper on Second Action, which states: Under present…
A Follow Up On The USPTO’s Continuing Legal Education System (CEP)
I received a communication from the USPTO today concerning future refinements to the CEP program. As you will recall, I reported on my participation in that pilot program in an earlier post here. From the Office of Enrollment and Discipline: Thank you for volunteering to participate in the USPTO Continuing Education for Practitioners Pilot Program. …