STOPfakes News

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 2012 Fall Roadshow Series will kick off Monday, September 10th, in Minneapolis and conclude on Friday, September 28th, in New York City.  The free, one-day events will inform the public about new final rules implementing provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA) that become effective on September 16, 2012. 

The roadshows are great opportunities to learn about the final rules for inventor’s oath/declaration, pre-issuance submissions, citation of patent owner statements, supplemental examination, inter partes review, post grant review, and covered business method review, as well as proposed rules for fees and the first-inventor-to-file provision.  Each roadshow will explain the final and proposed rules and answer audience questions.  We hope to see you there!

The roadshows will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the following locations: 

September 10: Minneapolis (Hennepin County Library)
September 12: Alexandria (USPTO campus)
September 14: Los Angeles (Los Angeles Public Library)
September 17: Denver (Denver Public Library)
September 20: Detroit (Detroit Public Library)
September 24: Atlanta (Georgia Institute of Technology Library)
September 26: Houston (Rice University Fondren Library)
September 28: New York City (New York Public Library)

The roadshows are free and open to the public.  Pre-registration is not required, though seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.  For more information, please visit the USPTO's website.

On July 9, 2012, President Obama signed into law S. 3187, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act.  The Act incorporates several of the legislative recommendations from the Administration's White Paper on Intellectual Property Enforcement Legislative Recommendations.

The Act enhances penalties under Title 18 for trafficking in counterfeit drugs and directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and amend, if appropriate, its guidelines and policy statements related to offenses that involve counterfeit drugs. It allows the FDA to require that companies notify the Agency if their drug has been counterfeited or stolen. In addition, the Act allows the FDA to destroy, without the opportunity to export, counterfeit drugs distributed in small packages (valued at $2,500 or less).

The White House press release is available here.

NIST is participating in a series of Intellectual Property Webinars hosted by the National Council for Entrepreneurial Technology Transfer (NCET2).  The webinar series started on June 13, 2012 and will continue every second Wednesday of the month until January 29, 2013 from 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET. The series seeks to bridge the knowledge gap on intellectual property law issues between the U.S. Government and various stakeholders.  Participation in this webinar program will provide an opportunity to understand and retain best practices as well as gain access to a comprehensive and holistic viewpoint on why intellectual property law is such an important economic tool. 

Register once to access the entire series of 8 scheduled webinars. If you miss a webinar, you can retrieve its archived recording on the NIST IP Webinar Series website.  

Schedule

• June 13 - Patents 101 Topics: Overview of the patent process with examination of each of the statutory requirements for patentability: useful, novel, non-obvious, enabling, and acceptable patentable subject matter
• July 11 - Securing a Patent and AIA Implementation Topics: Inventorship, assignee rights, provisional vs non-provisional patents, grace period; Summary of AIA implementation
• August 8 – Intellectual Property, non-patented Topics: Trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights
  September 12 – Researcher’s Life After Invention Disclosure Topics: Working with university TTOs, agreements, within the context of AIA
• October 10 – Working with a Patent Attorney/Agent and USPTO Topics: Working with the right TT Officer and law firm, addressing the documents needed for a proper application submission, drafting proper specification/drawings/claims, effective use of interview, understanding a final and non-final rejection
• November 14 - Patent Trial and Appeal Board Topics: Post-final rejection, post-grant review, appeal process, inter partes re-exam
• December 12 – Protecting IP in Global Markets: Understanding a PCT, international issues on IP procurement, markets and competitors
• January 9, 2013 - Picking the Right Global Markets Topics: To where and how do I export? What programs are out there to help?

U.S. Commerce Official Discusses Intellectual Property and Innovation at European Business Summit on World IP Day

On April 26, World Intellectual Property Day,  U.S. Commerce Department Assistant Secretary for Market Access and Compliance Michael C. Camuñez participated in a panel discussion on intellectual property rights (IPR) and growth at the 10th Annual European Business Summit in Brussels, Belgium.  His participation in the Business Summit focused on the question of how policymakers protect and enforce IPR, while fostering the continued growth of the digital and overall economy.  Assistant Secretary Camuñez spoke about the global competition to transform industrial, carbon-based economies into twenty-first century knowledge-based economies—to attract and keep talent, to intensify the pace of innovation and commercialization of innovative products and services, and to gain and keep our competitive edge.  Recognizing the benefits of a knowledge economy—higher wages, higher growth, a greater ability to address the needs and desires of the global population, and an overall increased prosperity and quality of life—the Assistant Secretary expressed the U.S. perspective that protection and enforcement of IPR is a key building block for creating and growing a desirable knowledge economy.  

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hosts World IP Day Program

The importance of technological innovation and visionaries, as well as the social balance and value of intellectual property in society, was discussed from various perspectives, including effects generated by the America Invents Act of 2011.  Speakers included patent practitioners, intellectual property law professors, inventors, and senior government officials.  The full schedule is available here.

U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Blogs About World IP Day

Today Victoria Espinel, U.S. Intellectural Property Enforcement Coordinator, praised innovators for their contributions to society and our daily lives and wrote about the importance of intellectual property protection for the American people and economy.  Read her White House blog and her guest blog on Embassy Ottawa's site. 

For more information on World IP Day and the 2012 theme, visionary innovators, visit the World Intellectual Property Organization's website.