Maier & Maier’s Stephen Kunin Discusses New Year’s Wishes with IPWatchdog

Maier & Maier

Maier & Maier partner, Stephen Kunin, was featured in IPWatchdog.com’s post highlighting New Year wishes from top IP practitioners. Mr. Kunin’s New Year’s wish stated:

“I would be pleasantly surprised and thrilled if Congress can resolve the patent subject matter eligibility problems that have been created by the Supreme Court and Federal Circuit. At this point I don’t see a solution coming from the federal courts or the USPTO. I hope that Senators Tillis and Coons will be able to overcome the roadblocks that are hampering a legislative solution that provides clarity in the law and promotes innovation.”

A majority of the New Year wishes focused on restoring strength to the US patent system and bringing clarity to the patent subject matter eligibility quagmire created by the courts.

We at Maier & Maier wish you a Happy New Year and we will keep you updated on key developments in US patent law throughout 2024!

USPTO Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility Response (DSMER) Pilot Program to Launch February 1, 2022

Maier & Maier

A new Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility Response (DSMER) Pilot Program will launch at the USPTO on February 1, 2022. This Pilot Program is designed to address issues currently present in examination of applications for eligibility under 35 U.S.C. 101.

The Pilot Program will allow applicants to defer examination under Section 101, such that the application is first examined under all grounds of patentability under Sections 102, 103, and 112. Under the Pilot, applicants will first amend claims to overcome rejections under the more objective patentability standards of these Sections, which may also have the benefit of informing the examiner that the claims are eligible under Section 101 as well. Subsequent to examination under these Sections, the examiner will conduct an eligibility analysis under Section 101. It is intended that such an examination sequence will result in stronger, more reliable, and higher quality patents.

Participation in this program is by invitation only. The criteria for participating in this program are listed on the DSMER Pilot Program page of the USPTO website.