U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Temporarily Stopped from Implementing New Rules

By Ariel Rogson, Marger Johnson & McCollom

In last month's article, I described new rules for prosecuting patent applications that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office planned to implement on November 1, 2007. On October 31, 2007, Judge James C. Cacheris granted a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, as requested by Smithkline Beecham Corporation in their suit against the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

What does this mean? In short, it means that implementation of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office's new rules is at least temporarily delayed, and the rules in effect October 31, 2007 continue to operate. Eventually, the court will decide whether to permanently enjoin the implementation of the rules, so this ruling may only be a temporary reprieve. Stay tuned for more details as they arise.

About the author
Ariel Rogson is an attorney at Marger Johnson & McCollom, PC – a full-service intellectual property law firm headquartered in Portland. A former software developer, he continues to serve clients in software and high-tech industries. He can be reached at 503.222.3613 or ariel.rogson@techlaw.com.