Archive for July, 2006
House Subcommittee markup scheduled on Representative Issa’s pilot program bill
The House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Propery is set to markup H.R. 5418, a bill introduced by Representatives Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) to “establish a pilot program in certain United Satates district courts to encourage enhancement of expertise in patent cases among district judges.” The Issa bill would [...]
The Rules are coming…the Rules are coming…
It’s become quite clear over the last several weeks that the Patent and Trademark Office intends to make final the proposed rules relating to initial claim limits and limitations on continuation practice. In Boston a few weeks back, John Whealan, Solicitor and USPTO General Counsel for Intellectual Property, told the IP section of the [...]
Friday food for thought: Here’s to the entrepreneur in all of us
We intellectual property attorneys are an extremely lucky group. Why? Because we get to work with entrepreneurs, the true heroes of a capitalist society. It’s hard for me to summarize my feelings about these visionaries. I’ve tried, but can’t seem to write a brief description that comes close to representing the [...]
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee approves USPTO funding bill
Yesterday, the Senate Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations subcommittee approved the Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill, which includes the funding authority for the Patent and Trademark Office for FY 2007. The subcommittee approved a $1.77B appropriation for the Office - the same level approved by the House Appropriations Committee.
No substantive amendments were offered during the subcommittee markup. [...]
Friday food for thought: Benjamin Franklin on patents
If I asked you to take a guess at Benjamin Franklin’s views on patents, I suspect you’d think that he would support a strong patent system. That was my guess. He’s known to have been an inventive guy…seems logical that he would support a patent system that rewards and encourages inventive efforts.
If you [...]
