Micro entity status benefits are limited *

USA - December 7 2012
The America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA) authorizes the U.S. Patent Office to create a new third tier of fees for patent prosecution and maintenance — “Micro Entity Status” — where fees may be reduced by up to 75 percent.

Co-authors: Laurence H. Posorske, Christopher J. Nichols.

Don’t let your right to petition for inter partes review slip away *

USA - August 15 2012
The replacement of inter partes reexamination with inter partes review on September 16, 2012, will have several important implications for patentees and patent challengers.

Co-authors: Jeff B. Vockrodt, Maya M. Eckstein.

Litigation hold notices in light of Apple v. Samsung *

USA - August 6 2012
On July 25, 2012, in the case of Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., LTD., et al., the Magistrate Judge, Paul S. Grewal, for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, issued an order granting Apple’s motion for an adverse inference jury instruction based on the court’s finding that Samsung did not suspend its automatic biweekly destruction of emails from its email system, that Samsung failed to issue sufficiently distributed litigation hold notices after it admitted the litigation was “reasonably foreseeable” and failed to follow up on such hold notices, and that Samsung failed to monitor its employees in their preservation efforts, to ensure compliance with the hold notices.