The Patent and Trademark Office has two statutorily defined duties: To grant, issue, and register; and to disseminate information to the public. Confusion surrounding yesterday’s closing/non-closing of the Office shows, again, that PTO officials often forget about, and perhaps even ignore, the latter.

The Patent and Trademark Office faced a cash crunch in fiscal year 2009. Fee collections were significantly lower than expected, and several drastic cost-cutting measures had to be implemented toward the end of the year. The annual report seems to suggest, though, that the Office left $118M on the table, presumably exposed to Congress for diversion.

The Federal Trade Commission sued Intel today, claiming that the company’s anti-competitive behavior over the last decade has harmed innovation and consumers. When compared to the company’s patent reform efforts, the lawsuit reveals an interesting dichotomy that leaves the company in a difficult position.

Wondering about the value of method claims in a patent application directed at an apparatus/composition “invention?” A recent decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reminds us that method claims might preserve your ability to file an infringement claim in certain situations where asserting apparatus claims is blocked by less than perfect marking practices.