As businesses feel the lingering stress from the COVID-19 pandemic, some are considering bringing patent prosecution in-house in order to cut costs. With clients continuing to mind their budgets, how can firms demonstrate the cost savings and ROI they bring to the table?

Even during these uncertain times, the USPTO maintains that operations will continue without interruption. That means while you are busy adopting new remote work processes and ensuring your team is healthy, office actions are still being issued. 

Biopharmaceutical companies AbbVie Inc. and Allergan recently announced that they signed a consent decree with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that will commit the companies to sell some properties if they commence a planned merger.

Contemplating an interview at the USPTO? Our analysis found that nearly 95% of examiners are more likely to allow an application when an interview is part of the prosecution.

Driven by market demand for efficiencies and cost savings, law firms and IP departments are looking to implement more legal technology into their workflow. But after all the work you put into choosing the right tool, how do you get attorneys and staff members to adopt?

Big business is all about data. We see it in almost every industry, from healthcare to financial services to aviation and beyond. But the legal industry has been slow to adapt.

We’re all familiar with Newton’s third law of physics: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Well, at the USPTO, every office action means additional work for the prosecuting attorney, and thus, additional costs.

Executives at T-Mobile may be weighing a potential merger with Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider. 

In 2019, the USPTO issued revised § 101 guidance, while the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property held a series of high-profile hearings on a legislative proposal to abrogate Alice. Several patent-related bills were also introduced in Congress, including the STRONGER Patents Act and the Inventor Rights Act.

As we continue to monitor those developments, we now turn our attention to the future to speculate as to what the new year might hold for the patent world. 

As the “Global Stage for Innovation,” the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the world's gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies.