Intellectual Property Law

To reduce pendencies and lower barriers to international patent protection, the USPTO extended its Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program with the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property until June 30, 2027. Read more

The Department of Justice, USPTO and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (the Agencies) announced the withdrawal of the 2019 Policy Statement on Remedies for Standards-Essential Patents Subject to Voluntary F/RAND Commitments (2019 Statement). Read more

The USPTO launched a new Sequence Listing Resource Center (SLRC) to better assist applicants who file patent applications containing nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence disclosures. Read more

To provide more certainty and predictability in proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Kathi Vidal issued updated guidance to the PTAB on permissible uses of applicant admitted prior art (AAPA) in inter partes review proceedings (IPRs) under 35 U.S.C. § 311. Read more

To promote consistent and clear PTAB decision-making, the USPTO has adopted an interim process for PTAB decision circulation and internal PTAB review. T Read more

On May 25, 2022, the USPTO fully reopened all locations to employees and resumed some in-person events and appointments for the public. Read more

The USPTO fee schedule was updated, effective June 1, 2022: Read more

The Intellectual Property (“IP”) Law Section of the California Lawyers Association will host its 46th Annual IP Institute, November 3-5, 2022, online and in person at the Laguna Cliffs Hotel in sunny Dana Point, California. Our hybrid event is one of the nation's premier IP conferences, offering access to top industry leaders and sessions, in a relaxed coastal atmosphere. It will cover a wide range of cutting-edge and compelling topics of intellectual property law and feature our popular IP Vanguard Awards event. Read more

Join us for our virtual event "The Patent Office Comes to California" Read more

The USPTO is increasing transparency through updates on the interim process for Director review webpage and through a new webpage that provides the status of Director review requests as it formalizes the Director review process. Read more