The November 15, 2007 Press Release from the USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) shows that there is an historic improvement in the quality of patent and trademark reviews and subsequently the quality of issued patents and registered trademarks. Here is some interesting statistics. In the year 2007, the USPTO,

• Examined 362,227 applications - the highest number in history.
• Quality compliance was 96.5 percent - equaling last year's results, the best in a quarter century.
• Patent examiner decisions were upheld by the USPTO's patent appeals board 69 percent of the time, up from 51 percent in 2005.

For the second year in a row, the USPTO has exceeded all of its trademark-related performance goals. The USPTO's trademark examining attorneys examined a record 323,527 applications and the quality was 97.4 percent and exceeded the fiscal year 2007 target.

To see the entire Press Release go to http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/07-46.htm

The US Patent Law is based on the utilitarian reasoning, which is to promote the progress of science and useful arts in general public interest. The eligibility criteria for patentability is that the invention should be useful, must be non obvious and novel with proper specifications.

Managed Outsource Solutions (MOS) is a US based legal outsourcing company that offers outsourced services in patent litigation support services, patent infringement litigation, (IP) Intellectual Property litigation, legal transcription, legal documentation and legal research for clients in the US, the UK, Canada and Australia.

Labels: IP litigation, patents, trademarks, US patent and trade mark office, USPTO

Request for patent pending at a patent office for any invention is the basis of a patent application. The patent application must have complete details, with official forms and related correspondence. Applications are accepted in national patent office such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or the United Kingdom Patent Office.

What are the different types of patent applications? Well the actual names and types of patent applications will vary according to the patent offices and their location, but one can definitely generalize the basic types of patent applications. They are,

• Standard patent application, also referred to as a non provisional application contains all standards like description of invention and related correspondences.
• Provisional application is time limited and is mainly a prelude to obtaining a priority patent filing date. It has a lower fee than the regular application.
• Continuation application is for different types of follow up of any previously filed application.
• Divisional applications are useful if a unity of invention objection is issued and multiple inventions can be protected and can retain the priority date of the parent application.

The most important part in a patent application is the claims of the patent application that have all the legal terms and usually is difficult to understand for the lay man and hence must be definitely done in consultation with a competent patent attorney.

Managed Outsource Solutions (MOS) is a US based company that offers a wide range of legal outsourcing services including patent litigation support services, patent infringement litigation and intellectual property litigation services to clients in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.

Labels: continuational, patent application, provisional, standard application, USPTO