Monthly Archives: April 2004

Does IP theft promote terrorism?

…Ronald K. Noble, the Secretary General of Interpol has previously voiced concern that intellectual property crime “is becoming the preferred method of funding for a number of terrorist groups” including Al-Queda and Hezbollah…

IP Theft Funding Organized Crime and Terrorism by Chris Guinn, at Thomas, Kayden, Horstemeyer & Risley.

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Your daily dose of USPTO News Releases

A. Special Mail Stops for Patent Mail. Print it out for your secretary.
B. Establishment of Mail Stop Post Issue; Revision and Deletion of Certain Mail Stops [PDF]
…Effective immediately, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has established a new mail stop, Mail Stop Post Issue, and several [...]

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Patent practice wisdom

We have a new receptionist and we have all be giving her tidbits of patent practice wisdom as we think of them. Earlier I told her that if the question is “Does the Patent Office charge a fee for this?” the answer is almost always “Yes.” My secretary then made the point that [...]

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This week’s Official Gazette Notices

Official Gazette Notices for 27 April 2004 Usual sections/notices plus: “Notice of Pilot Program to Permit Pre-First Office Action Interview for Applications Assigned to Art Units 3624 and 3628 and Request for Comments on Pilot Program.”

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Provisional Patent Application FAQ

What is a provisional patent application (hereinafter “PPA”)?
As a result of GATT, the U.S. Patent System added this new form of application in 1995. A PPA is basically a temporary (provisional) patent application that goes irretrievably abandoned one year from the date of filing. If the applicant wishes to keep the priority date of the [...]

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IPO: Top 300 Patent Owners (2003)

The IPO has published its list (in PDF format) of the top 300 U.S. patent owners for 2003. The top ten are:
1. IBM (3415 patents)
2. Hitachi
3. Vanon
4. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
5. Hewlett-Packard
6. Micron Technology (way to go, Idaho!!)
7. Intel
8. General Electric
9. Fujitsu
10. Siemens
Additionally, it looks like there may be more rocket scientists in the [...]

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USPTO Notice re: tables

Notice that Lengthy Tables will be Published Differently in Patents, Statutory Invention Registrations and Patent Application Publications And Notice of Pilot Program With Respect to Lengthy Tables [pdf]

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USPTO “save a tree” program continues

USPTO to Provide Electronic Access to Cited U.S. Patent References with Office Actions and Cease Supplying Paper Copies [pdf]

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USPTO Notice re: new mail stop – secrecy order; fax number – expedited foreign filing license

USPTO Notice re: Establishment of New Mail Stop L&R (applications subject to a secrecy order, or are national security classified); FAX Number for Requests for Expedited Foreign Filing License [PDF]

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Confidential Information in File Wrappers

Reminder of the Proper Procedure for Filing Confidential Information Pursuant to MPEP 724.02 [PDF]
Five page memo. Essentially…if it is a trade secret or confidential, follow MPEP 724.02 or it will be scanned like everything else…

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