Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently published new guidance explaining the requirements for patent examiners to reject patent claims for obviousness in view of what was already known in the prior art. 89 Fed. Reg. 14449 (Feb. 27, 2024).
Under 35 U.S.C. §103, "[a] patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained … if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains." This question of obviousness is often amorphous, and presents uncertainty in patent examination and patent disputes. The new guidance seeks to provide added clarity to patent examiners and practitioners regarding application of the law in this critical area.
According to Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, "[i]n addition to issuing robust and reliable patent rights to innovators, our goal is to give those innovators clarity and certainty by applying the same standards whenever those rights are challenged before the USPTO. By providing this guidance, we are injecting greater consistency and transparency not only into our processes, but into the entire innovation ecosystem."
ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN ENTERTAINMENT LAW.
Already a have an account? Sign In Now Log In Now
For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473
End of year collections are crucial for law firms because they allow them to maximize their revenue for the year, impacting profitability, partner distributions and bonus calculations by ensuring outstanding invoices are paid before the year closes, which is especially important for meeting financial targets and managing cash flow throughout the firm.
Law firms and companies in the professional services space must recognize that clients are conducting extensive online research before making contact. Prospective buyers are no longer waiting for meetings with partners or business development professionals to understand the firm's offerings. Instead, they are seeking out information on their own, and they want to do it quickly and efficiently.
Through a balanced approach that combines incentives with accountability, firms can navigate the complexities of returning to the office while maintaining productivity and morale.
The paradigm of legal administrative support within law firms has undergone a remarkable transformation over the last decade. But this begs the question: are the changes to administrative support successful, and do law firms feel they are sufficiently prepared to meet future business needs?
Counsel should include in its analysis of a case the taxability of the anticipated and sought after damages as the tax effect could be substantial.