The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has published its final rules for the implementation of certain provisions of U.S. patent law as reformed under the America Invents Act (“AIA”) that become effective on September 16, 2012. As noted in previous blog posts, the AIA was passed last year to revamp the U.S. patent system in stages, with various provisions going into effect at different times. While some changes have already occurred, many significant changes will become effective on September 16, 2012, including the following:
- inventor’s oath/declaration
- supplemental examination
- administrative trial proceedings, including: inter partes review; post grant review; and transition program for covered business method patents
The final rules for these changes have now been issued by the USPTO. See here for more information, and to find links to the various rules. The rules for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, which will hear the administrative trials, is also published.
The USPTO will go on tour in September 2012, in a series of “roadshows” to be held in Alexandria, Atlanta, Detroit, Denver, Houston, L.A., Minneapolis, and New York to explain these administrative trials and procedures. For more information on the roadshows, click here.
A final round of changes to the patent system will go into effect on March 16, 2013. These changes will have their own rules, to be issued at a later date, so check back for more information.