USPTO launches new Patent Public Search tool and webpage

"The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced a new Patent Public Search tool that provides more convenient, remote, and robust full-text searching of all U.S. patents and published patent applications.

Based on the advanced Patents End-to-End (PE2E) search tool USPTO examiners use to identify prior art, this free, cloud-based platform combines the capabilities of four existing search tools scheduled to be retired in September 2022: Public-Examiner’s Automated Search Tool (PubEAST), Public-Web-based Examiner’s Search Tool (PubWEST), Patent Full-Text and Image Database (PatFT), and Patent Application Full-Text and Image Database (AppFT).

 “This new platform represents a significant step forward in our broader efforts to meet stakeholders where they are, especially in the pandemic,” said Drew Hirshfeld, Performing the Functions and Duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. “Knowing that our previous tools did not provide users with the convenience or similar functionality as those used by our examiners, it is incredibly gratifying to know that now more stakeholders can search for patents using the resources of four powerful search platforms in one expansive tool.”

In the past, users could only access legacy search tools PubEAST and PubWEST at a USPTO facility like the headquarters in Alexandria, a regional office, or a Patent and Trademark Resource Center. With the launch of the new tool, remote searching is now available to all users with internet access. Additional benefits include:

• Layouts: Multiple layouts with multiple tools to provide more data at once
• Highlighting: Multi-color highlighting that can be viewed across multiple gadgets and turned on or off
• Tagging: Ability to tag documents into multiple groups that can be renamed and color coordinated
• Notes: Ability to add notes to an image with options to include tags, relevant claims, and highlights
• Quality: Robust full-text searching of U.S. patents and published applications
• Familiar usability: Same searching syntax as PubEAST and PubWEST

 In conjunction with the launch of Patent Public Search tool, the USPTO unveiled a new Patent Public Search webpage that includes FAQs, training resources, and other information to help users transition to the new tool. Upcoming public training sessions will be posted on the webpage as soon as they are scheduled..."
Patents 

Patent Law: A Handbook for Congress

"A patent gives its owner the exclusive right to make, use, import, sell, or offer for sale the invention covered by the patent. The patent system has long been viewed as important to encouraging American innovation by providing an incentive for inventors to create. Without a patent system, the reasoning goes, there would be little incentive for invention because anyone could freely copy the inventor’s innovation.

Congressional action in recent years has underscored the importance of the patent system, including a major revision to the patent laws in 2011 in the form of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. Congress has also demonstrated an interest in patents and pharmaceutical pricing; the types of inventions that may be patented (also referred to as “patentable subject matter”); and the potential impact of patents on a vaccine for COVID-19.

As patent law continues to be an area of congressional interest, this report provides background and descriptions of several key patent law doctrines. The report first describes the various parts of a patent, including the specification (which describes the invention) and the claims (which set out the legal boundaries of the patent owner’s exclusive rights). Next, the report provides detail on the basic doctrines governing patentability, enforcement, and patent validity.

For patentability, the report details the various requirements that must be met before a patent is allowed to issue. These requirements include the following:

  Patentable Subject Matter. The claimed invention must be directed to one of the statutorily defined categories of patent-eligible subject matter.

 Definiteness. The patent claims defining the invention’s legal boundaries must be sufficiently clear.
 Written Description. The specification must adequately describe the invention.

 Enablement. The specification must enable a person in the field of the relevant technology to make and use the invention.

 Novelty. The invention cannot be the same as something known in the “prior art” (i.e., public knowledge in the field of relevant technology at the time of invention).

 Nonobviousness. The invention cannot be an obvious extension of the prior art..."
Patent law 

Patent Law: A Primer and Overview of Emerging Issues

"In an increase over prior terms, the Supreme Court of the United States issued six opinions involving patent law during its October 2016 Term. These decisions addressed issues ranging from patent exhaustion, multicomponent products, and biosimilar patents to procedural issues like venue and the statute of limitations for infringement claims. The growing number of Supreme Court opinions involving patent law over the past decade may also speak to the rising importance of intellectual property more broadly; a reported 84% of the S&P 500 Market Value in 2015 is ascribed to intangible assets. With this increased attention on patent law, an understanding of patent law and the cases issued during the High Court’s recently concluded term will likely be of interest to Congress.

The patent law regime in the United States is grounded in the U.S. Constitution itself; article I, section 8, clause 8 of the Constitution provides: “The Congress Shall Have Power ... To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to ... Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective ... Discoveries.” Nonetheless, the rights associated with patents do not arise automatically. Rather, to obtain patent protection, the Patent Act of 1952 requires inventors to apply with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO)...:"
Patent law

FTC Report Recommends Improvements in Patent System to Promote Innovation and Benefit Consumers
"A new Federal Trade Commission report recommends improvements to two areas of patent law: policies affecting how well a patent gives notice to the public of what technology is protected and remedies for patent infringement. The report, The Evolving IP Marketplace: Aligning Patent Notice and Remedies with Competition, emphasizes that the patent system and competition policy share the goal of promoting innovation that benefits consumers.“When the patent system incorporates the principles of competition policy, the patent and antitrust laws work together to achieve their common goal. The recommended changes would benefit consumers by encouraging investments in innovation and promoting competition among patented technologies,” said FTC Commissioner Edith Ramirez.

The report continues the Commission’s policy engagement with the patent system that began with its 2003 report, To Promote Innovation: The Proper Balance of Competition and Patent Law and Policy by highlighting the role of courts and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in notice and remedies issues..