The USPTO is not the only patent office that has been trying to reduce the number of patents deriving from a single application. On March 26, 2009, the European Patent Office announced new rules that will limit the time within which divisional applications may be filed.
My colleagues Paul Legaard, Mark DeLuca and Dan Scolnick have published a summary of the new rules; the summary is available at this link. The new rules will take effect April 1, 2010.
IP Spotlight 