Monthly Archives: March 2010

Eastern Migration: Patent Filing and Protection in China

As one of the largest filers of PCT national stage applications in the world, inovia often observes firsthand global trends occurring in the foreign filing industry. One noteworthy development in the past decade is the emergence of China as both … Continue reading

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More 1 April 2010 EPO Rule Changes: Amendments at European Regional Stage Entry

In view of the high excess claims fees that apply to European applications, it’s common for PCT applicants to reduce the number of claims on file at regional phase entry to Europe. In the past, the EPO has taken a … Continue reading

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Patent Office Fee Changes – Two Opposite Approaches

Proposed Changes in the USPTO In 2009, the USPTO faced both an 8% budget decrease from the previous year ($1.43 billion vs. $1.31 billion) and the pressure of reducing an ever-growing backlog of applications.    In response, the USPTO has … Continue reading

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PCT Filings in 2009

Overall Decrease in PCT Filings The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently announced its statistics for PCT filings in 2009, and it’s clear that international patent filings have not been immune to the global economic downturn. Overall, the number of … Continue reading

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European Patent Office: Changes to Multiple Independent Claims Practice

We recently gave a brief summary of the impending 1 April 2010 changes to European rules. New Rule 62A: Independent Claims Today, we’re going to go into a little more detail about the changes to management of independent claims in … Continue reading

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