Much has been made about the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. While it is clear that the pandemic and its associated lockdowns have resulted in a sharp economic contraction, it is unclear what effect—if any—it will have on the USPTO in terms of patent filing and other patent prosecution-related activity.

With so much going on in the world during the first half of 2020 — a global pandemic, an economic recession, and widespread protest movements — developments in the intellectual property sphere have largely flown under the radar. But that does not mean 2020 has been bereft of patent news.

The USPTO has announced that, in accordance with the CARES Act, it is further extending the deadlines to file certain patent-related documents or fees to June 1, 2020.

With budgets tightening and department priorities shifting, now is the time for companies to evaluate outside legal counsel.

Following industry news these days, it’s hard to avoid theories that the economic instability created by COVID-19 will be the death of patent prosecution.

Prompted by the CARES Act, the USPTO announced extensions to the time allowed to file certain patent-related documents and to pay certain required fees. Legal teams can use patent analytics tools like Juristat to quickly identify which applications qualify.

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.

2020 is officially here! In order to best prepare for the new year in patent policy, let's take a look at some top stories from 2019 with a lasting impact.

It’s the end of the year, and we at Juristat have a lot to celebrate! Along with growing our team and moving into a new office space, we launched new workflow automation solutions that generate office action responses and information disclosure statements using AI. And in the coming year, we’re rolling out a major update to our analytics product, giving clients improved access to comparison metrics, business intelligence, and custom reports for every tech center, art unit, USPC, or CPC class, and more.

Receiving a rejection for a patent application is no one’s idea of a good time. After spending hours on hours shaping a patent application that is focused, novel, and specific, you are told to reconsider your hard work and have another go at it.