Yesterday, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued an interim rule [.pdf] for implementation of the Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement Act (CREATE) of 2004. The Act excludes secret prior art from the patentability determination in a patent application when the art and claimed invention arise under an established joint research relationship between different entities. See this PTP post for more detail on the Act.
The interim rule lays the roadmap for practice under the CREATE Act, including mechanisms for amending the specification of an application in accordance with the Act and filing a terminal disclaimer to overcome obviousness-type double-patenting that arises.
Comments on the interim rule must be received on or before February 10, 2005. No public hearing will be held.
You can e-mail comments on the rule here.
