If the first six months of 2019 are any indication, this year will be a year of reform. 

In June, we marked the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 573 U.S. 208 (2014). Far from being settled law, questions of subject matter eligibility have dominated the conversation about patents in the courts, Congress, and the USPTO during the first half of the year. The continued controversy surrounding the Alice case half a decade after it was decided vividly demonstrates its unpopularity and underscores the broad consensus that the time for reform is now.

Elsewhere, the Supreme Court also issued two decisions focusing on provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA), while theft of IP assets by Chinese firms continues to plague U.S. businesses..

In 2013, the USPTO enacted the After Final Consideration Pilot (AFCP) 2.0 program as an alternative response to a final rejection. The goal of the program was to increase communication between examiners and applicants and take those applications that are close to allowance across the finish line, without requiring the time and cost inevitably associated with an RCE.

Over the last two weeks, patent practitioners, former judges, consultants, and law professors have testified in front of the Senate on the subject of patent eligibility law. Here's a recap of the hearings: 

Sprint and T-Mobile recently announced that they had reached a deal to merge, promising to “be a force for positive change in the U.S. wireless, video, and broadband industries.” Combining the country’s third and fourth largest mobile service providers would be one of the most significant consolidations in the American wireless market in years.

We’ve all been there. Prosecution is taking longer than expected. You’re facing one rejection after another. And your client is starting to question whether this patent is worth pursuing.

This precarious position is where Jonathan Miller of Nicholson De Vos Webster & Elliott LLP found himself during a recent prosecution.

Due to inconsistent interpretation, preparing for and responding to Alice rejections has become one of the most stressful aspects of patent prosecution. Rejections citing Alice have multiplied exponentially since the initial decision on June 19, 2014, and they now account for more than 60% of §101 rejections and more than 8% of all rejections, as of our latest analysis.

Two of the biggest pharmaceutical companies are joining forces in a blockbuster merger. Bristol-Myers Squibb is buying Celgene in a cash and stock deal valued at about $74 billion.

Since June of 2014, Alice has become one of the most feared names in patent prosecution. Rejections citing Alice have multiplied exponentially since then, and they now account for more than 60% of §101 rejections and more than 8% of all rejections, as of our latest analysis. 

But Alice rejections aren’t necessarily fatal to an application – and we found the firms to prove it. Which firms are the best at overcoming Alice rejections and getting to an NOA? Read on to find out.

The 2018-2019 government shutdown will stand – at least for now – as the longest closure or partial closure of the U.S. federal government in modern history. While the USPTO is not immune from the dangers of a shutdown, it has a unique structure that helps it weather the storm. So well, in fact, that the USPTO has never closed due to a lack of federal appropriations.

Here at Juristat, we’re closing out 2018 on a high note. On top of expanding our own team and client roster over the past year, in September we launched Platform, our most revolutionary product yet, and just last month, CEO Drew Winship was honored with a Top Legal Innovation Award. And we're already working on new product features that we know will improve patent prosecution for our clients in 2019.