Posts
Tuesday Markup of Litigation Funding Legislation
Although John Squires is busy destroying the PTAB—as of last week, he has now gone 0 for 34 on allowing institution of IPR petitions he reviews—the story in Congress is more positive. Tomorrow, t...
Step 1: Destroy IPR. Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit.
Last week, the USPTO issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) containing major changes to the institution process for inter partes review. Combined with other changes made by the USPTO, inc...
Capable of Repetition, But Avoiding Review—USPTO New Regulation Not Reviewed By OIRA
The USPTO has put out a new NPRM, attempting to lock in place rules that were created without going through rulemaking in the prior Trump administration. While I have a lot to say about the substance...
John Squires Confirmed as USPTO Director, With Serious Work Ahead
Last Thursday, the Senate confirmed John Squires as Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), advancing him alongside a slate of 47 other Trump Administration nominees in a single vote...
Not Just Tech: Battling Patent Trolls in the Healthcare Industry
Critics of efforts to mitigate patent troll abuse often make claims that patent troll concerns are overblown, or that the whole concept is a tech industry fabrication. But recent reporting from Bloomb...
Congress Should Close Litigation Funding Loophole As Part of Government Funding Negotiations
With government funding set to expire at the end of the month, Congress is once again scrambling to avoid a shutdown. Whether lawmakers move forward with a temporary stopgap or a more comprehensive le...
From Blackbird to Burford: Push for Funder Ownership of Law Firm is Cause for Concern
Burford Capital, the world’s largest third-party litigation funder, has announced plans to take their business model one step further. It is now exploring acquiring minority stakes in law firms, in ...
Samsung and Google Join Growing Chorus Challenging USPTO’s Unlawful PTAB Changes
The list of companies challenging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) new discretionary denial regime just keeps getting longer. On August 18th, Samsung and Google filed a joint writ of m...
With Friends Like This
Bloomberg Law is reporting that President Trump has issued a statement purporting to de-recognize the USPTO examiner's union, claiming that the primary purpose of the USPTO is national security. When...
PTO Moves to Limit Use of General Knowledge in IPRs
On July 31, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued a memorandum that, while framed as a clarification of existing rules, carries significant implications for inter partes review (IPR) proce...
Repackaging the Same Flawed Ideas on Patent Quality
This month, the IP Policy Institute at the University of Akron School of Law released a policy brief, “Measuring Patent Quality and Reducing the Backlog at the USPTO,” presenting it as new empiric...
Patent Troll Fumbles Cases Against NFL Teams
Earlier this month, a particularly aggressive non-practicing entity (NPE) – TicketMatrix LLC – quietly dropped a pair of patent infringement lawsuits against two National Football League teams, th...