[NOTE: after this post was originally published, the USPTO claim and continuation rules were enjoined. For details, click here and here.]
On October 10, 2007, the USPTO published a “clarification” of how its new limits on continuing applications will apply to patent applications that were filed before November 1, 2007. The rule relaxes some of the requirements for pre-November 1 filings, although whether or not it provides an actual “clarification” may be debatable.
Perhaps the best summary that I’ve seen is provided by the Intellectual Property Owners Association, which includes:
The USPTO has withdrawn the requirement for patent applicants who filed an application before November 1, 2007 to identify other pending applications that were filed within two months of the application and are owned by the same person and name a common inventor, except for applications that have precisely the same filing date.
The notice also delays the requirement to identify claims in a continuation-in-part application filed before November 1 that are supported by the parent application.
To view the complete USPTO clarification notice, click here.
