U.S. Patent and Trademark Office - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Senate committee approves bill targeting patent trolls

  A U.S. Senate committee has voted to approve a bill aimed at curbing abusive lawsuits by so-called patent trolls.

• Google patent envisions Cloud control of an army of robots

  Google received a US patent this week for technology that would enable it to use the Cloud to control an army of robots.

• USPTO leader New Year's resolution: improve patent quality

  Improving the quality of patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will be a top priority there in 2015, the office's acting director said.

• Tech industry likes Obama nominee for patent office

  The U.S. tech industry scored a victory this week when President Barack Obama nominated former Google lawyer Michelle Lee to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

• Supreme Court could limit software patents in Alice case

  A case before the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week could have a huge impact on business-method and software patents, with some experts concerned that the court could put significant limits on what can be patented.

• What's the problem with DMCA takedown notices?

  A U.S. government effort to encourage agreement among copyright holders and Web-based services on how to improve the notice-and-takedown process in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act began Thursday with some disagreement about what direction the discussions should take.

• USPTO to examine DMCA take-down process

  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is looking for ideas on how to improve the controversial notice-and-take-down provisions of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, amid complaints that the current process is cumbersome for small musicians and filmmakers.

• White House takes steps against patent trolls

  The U.S. White House will launch new efforts aimed at combating abusive patent lawsuits, including a website to assist defendants of patent lawsuits brought by so-called patent trolls.

• Critics to Congress: Put the brakes on patent bill

  The U.S. House of Representatives needs to take more time to debate and rewrite a bill targeting so-called patent trolls because several provisions would hurt legitimate patent holders, several critics of the bill said Tuesday.

• House panel approves bill targeting patent trolls

  A U.S. House of Representatives committee has approved legislation aimed at making it more difficult for so-called patent trolls to use infringement lawsuits against other businesses.

• Shutdown affects government sites, but Weather.gov remains up as storm looms

  As a tropical storm and possible hurricane bears down on the Gulf Coast of the U.S., the National Weather Service's website was churning out weather alerts Friday, despite a partial U.S. government shutdown that has affected citizens' access to other online resources.

• Samsung requests retrial in $1B patent ruling for Apple

  Samsung Electronics has requested a new trial for a patent related to a US$1 billion infringement ruling against it in a case brought by rival Apple, due to a re-examination of the patent at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

• Apple's crucial overscroll bounce patent claim is valid, US patent office says

  The USPTO has confirmed four claims of Apple's overscroll bounce patent, including claim 19 of the patent, according to a document filed with a Californian court on Thursday. That claim played a crucial part in Apple's US$1.05 billion dollar lawsuit against Samsung,.

• Obama targets so-called patent trolls

  The U.S. Congress should allow new challenges to patents on processes that are enabled by computers, and lawmakers should make it more difficult for patent-holding firms to gain import injunctions at the U.S. International Trade Commission, the White House has recommended.

• Personal Audio defends its podcasting patent

  The company that owns a U.S. patent for podcasting is confident the patent will stand up to a challenge initiated this week by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.