| United States Patent and Trademark Office
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February 1, 2010 – USTPO’s Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Request
The USPTO is expecting to generate just over $2 billion in fees in 2011, plus an additional $224 million from increases in certain patent fees. And in an effort to reduce patent processing time, the USPTO plans on hiring 1,000 patent examiners by 2013.
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January 28, 2010 – USPTO Announces Interim Procedure for Patentees to Request Patent Term Adjustment Recalculation
In light of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Wyeth v. Kappos – in which the court overturned the USPTO’s interpretation of 35 U.S.C. § 134 regarding patent term adjustments – the USPTO’s patent term adjustment software must be updated (expected completion is March 2, 2010). The USPTO is providing applicants with an interim recalculation procedure for applications issued prior to March 2, 2010 to correct errors the errors in term adjustment that were specifically identified in Wyeth.
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December 7, 2009 – USPTO Announces Green Technology Pilot Program
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is implementing a pilot program in which an applicant may have an application advanced out of turn (accorded special status) for examination, for applications pertaining to green technologies including greenhouse gas reduction (applications pertaining to environmental quality, energy conservation, development of renewable energy resources or greenhouse gas emission reduction).
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November 13, 2009 – PCT Prosecution Highway
An applicant receiving a written opinion or an international preliminary examination report from either the European Patent Office (EPO) or the USPTO that at least one claim in a PCT application has novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability may request that the other office fast track the examination of corresponding claims in corresponding applications.
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| World Intellectual Property Office |
February 8, 2010 – International Patent Filings Dip in 2009 Amid Global Economic Downturn
International PCT applications drop 4.5% in 2009 to just under the 2007 level. PCT application filings in industrial nations experienced a sharper than average decline, including an 11% drop from the United States (the largest PCT filer). While PCT application filings in Japan, Korea, and China – each one of the top five largest PCT filers – increased slightly. Further, although applications declined in the fields of computer technology, pharmaceuticals, and medical technology applications, large growth rates were experienced in the fields of micro-structural and nano-technology as well as thermal processes and apparatus.
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December 14, 2009 – WIPO Welcomes EU Ratification of the WIPO “Internet Treaties”
The European Union ratifies WIPO “Internet Treaties” providing basic standards of protection for transmitting and distributing copyright content in the digital environment.
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| European Patent Office |
January 25, 2010 – Patent Prosecution Highway Expanded to Include PCT Applications
With this expansion, Applicants with an allowed application in the United States or Japan related to a PCT application may be able to receive accelerated examination before the EPO.
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December 18, 2009 – France Launches New Patent Database
France launches a new patent database website providing access to status information for French patents applications filed after 1989 and European patents designating France filed after 1989.
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