By Steven R. Ludwig, Ph.D.IP Today Columnist Steven Ludwig is a U.S. patent attorney with the law firm of Venable LLP
in Washington, D.C. Dr. Ludwig’s legal practice includes litigating and prosecuting
pharmaceutical / biotech cases for his clients. He can be reached at 202-344-4690 or via email
at sludwig@venable.com.
It certainly was nice to hear patent attorneys cheer again. The news that
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) was enjoined from implementing its new continuation /
claims rules was received by most with surprise, a sense of relief, and a lot of happiness.
I know I couldn’t stop smiling about Judge Cacheris’s
decision1 to grant
GlaxoSmithKline’s (“GSK”) request for a preliminary injunction against the
PTO. Halloween, October 31st, 2007, will certainly be remember fondly by the patent
bar. Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end for those against a strong patent system.
As a bit of background for readers new to the patent field, the “Final
Rules” published on August 21, 2007 by the PTO were to have gone into effect on November 1,
2007. See, Changes to Practice for Continued Examination Filings, Patent
Applications Containing Patentably...
