News & Thoughts

In response to administration mandates, discussion on the unofficial examiner Subreddit indicates that the USPTO has recently implemented significant changes to their examination procedures, including the practical elimination of mentorship resources for junior examiners. These changes, combined with mounting technical failures, and coupled with the Secretary of Commerce’s mandate to reduce the “unacceptable backlog” of… Read more: Recent USPTO Changes Point to Increased Examination Difficulty

In the midst of routine 5-10% government fee updates, the USPTO has embedded significant new fees geared to incentivize patent applicants to self-limit their use of powerful continuation strategies. For example, entrepreneurial innovators and cash-strapped startups may focus initially on more rapid allowance of patent claims targeting current key product features, thereby showing value to… Read more: Less than 3 weeks to file continuing patent applications before new USPTO fees are levied