Unusual headline. "Head of US Patent Office seeks views of UK patent attorneys on proposed changes to American system" is not the sort of headline one expects to see, yet it was the surprising title of a Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys media release last Friday. The real story is less exciting, but nonetheless not devoid of interest:
"President of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys Alasdair Poore has praised the Head of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for his readiness to listen to international users of the American IP system. David Kappos, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, spent several hours discussing proposed changes to American patent laws with UK patent attorneys during his recent visit to London.
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| "Have you heard the one about the Englishman, the American and the First-to-File patent system ...?" |
“The agenda for reform of US patent law is very exciting. We are encouraged to see that David Kappos is willing to take on board comments made by a group of non-Americans who use both the European and the US patent system,” says Alasdair Poore. “Businesses in the UK - and elsewhere in Europe – find the American system fundamentally very different from the UK and European system. As a result, it can be costly and time-consuming for a British company to file and prosecute a patent application in the USA. [Indeed! says Merpel, and why should European businesses be put to expense and inconvenience in seeking a patent for a market which is only half the size of that covered by the EPO?]
[Alasdair adds] “... If the changes are implemented in the way we discussed, British and European businesses will find the system much more straightforward. The requirements for filing patent applications in the USA will be much closer to the UK and European system, which will save time and money.”
An additional benefit of the proposed reforms will be that patent applications from American companies will be drafted in a way that makes them more suitable for filing in Europe. “Once Americans get used to their new system, they should find that their patent applications in Europe are much more straightforward to pursue”, said Alasdair Poore. ...".Readers on both sides of the Atlantic will doubtless supply their own comments.
Monday miscellany
Reviewed by Jeremy
on
Monday, May 09, 2011
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Reviewed by Jeremy
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Monday, May 09, 2011
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An additional benefit of the proposed reforms will be that patent applications from American companies will be drafted in a way that makes them more suitable for filing in Europe.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone explain to me (a US patent attorney) how the reforms will cause US applicants to write more-European applications? This sounds like wishful thinking by CIPA.
Re the caption on your last cartoon, I think Alasdair is a good Scot, and not a Sassenach!
ReplyDeleteRe anonymous 1: not directly drafting, but maybe the reforms will encourage US attorneys to advise their clients not to disclose their invention before filing a patent application, thereby buggering things up in Europe and everywhere else.
ReplyDelete