Pitfalls of appealing an improper claim interpretation *

USA - May 23 2012
A recent Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) decision, Ex parte CHARLES J. COHEN et al. (Appeal 2010-009167, in application serial no. 11/412,252, decision issued May 17, 2012), for which the Final Rejection was affirmed, provides a lesson about ensuing that claims are in the best form for appeal before taking up an appeal.

Intended use and anticipation: a lesson *

USA - March 9 2012
A recent Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) decision, Ex parte TAEYONG YOON (Appeal 2010-000843, in application serial no. 11/408,722, decision issued March 7, 2012), for which the Final Rejection was affirmed, provides an exemplary warning against drafting claims in such a way that features recited in the claims are not given full patentable weight.

Federal Circuit issues ruling on “new” rejections resulting from appeals before the BPAI *

USA - October 7 2011
In Leithem, the CAFC found that the Board improperly ruled that no new ground of rejection was relied upon in the Board’s affirmance of the Examiner’s rejection.

Ex Parte Alholm *

USA - August 12 2011
“…a claim cannot be compared to the prior art until it is sufficiently interpreted” - Ex Parte Alholm et al.