The US PTO Gets Tough with Its New Rules on Claims and Continuation Applications

摘要

Note: the new rules discussed below were to have been implemented on November 1, 2007. On October 31, 2007Judge Cacheris of the Eastern District of Virginia granted an injunction blocking the implementation of the rules. This injunction is only temporary, and a decision on the implementation of the new rules will be forthcoming. These new rules set forth big changes in patent practic, and will require patent practitioners to develop new strategies. Consequently, now more than ever is the time to review and prepare for the eventual implementation of these new rules (in the same or similar form).