Events
Striking Balance in the Patent System: Accounting for the Public’s Interest
Join the discussion at 2 pm ET to learn more about how the U.S. public is a vital stakeholder in the patent system.
Startup Seminar: Patent Policy and Your Startup
Engine and a panel discuss patent policy and how startups can get involved, at 4 pm ET/1 pm PT.
Hear from the Founders: Startups & Patent Policy
Join a discussion at 2:30 pm ET, with startups and small business innovators from across the country about the importance of patent quality.
The AIA at Ten: The Positive Impact of Inter Partes Review
This panel will examine perspectives from a variety of industries on how the inter partes review process has improved patent quality, reduced patent litigation, and promoted progress in the innovation ecosystem.
Resources
10 Steps The Biden-Harris Administration Should Take To Bring Equity To Our Patent System
Based on our learnings from those most directly affected by the patent system, we offer ten actions the federal government should take to answer the President’s calls to promote competition and advance equity across government that can transform the patent system in the public’s interest.
How Policymakers and Startups Alike Can Leverage Technology to Improve Patent Quality
Startups, innovators, and the general public stand to benefit from a patent system that reliably promotes innovation and puts an emphasis on the quality of patents over quantity. With lawmakers taking interest in improving patent quality, technology has a role to play.
What We Heard From the Founders About Startups & Patent Policy
At Engine, we are lucky to spend a lot of our time talking to startup founders . . . . So this week, during the inaugural Patent Quality Week, [we co-hosted] a webinar to allow more of you to hear directly from these startup leaders across the country about the exciting work they are doing, and about how patents and abusive patent assertion affect their ability to grow and succeed.
Better Patents Mean More Innovation
Patents can play a vital role as a tool to spur invention and “promote the progress of science and useful arts” as required by the U.S. Constitution. Yet low quality and invalid patents that should never have been granted in the first place can impede progress and make it difficult for true inventors to bring their products to market.
The Growing Problem Of U.S. Patent Trolls, And What Should Happen Next
In the very near future, President Biden will nominate a new director for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). . . . The new administration will need to set to work addressing the problem of patent trolls and reshaping the patent system to support economic growth through startups, small businesses, and innovation.
The Quality and Attributes of Patents as Property
Over the past decade, Congress and the courts have made changes that have improved the patent system and encouraged American leadership in innovation. With our nation in a period of economic recovery, now is not the time to threaten that important progress.
Three Takeaways from “Striking Balance in the Patent System: Accounting for the Public’s Interest”
On Tuesday, July 20th, patent law experts from around the country convened to talk about the public’s interest in the patent system . . . The conversation focused on the concrete ways patents affect us all, the role patent quality plays in moderating those effects, and what the public can do to ensure our voices are heard—and interests are served—by the patent system.
COVID-19 Shows What Innovation Looks Like Without Patents (Spoiler: It Works)
The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a fascinating natural experiment: What does innovation look like when patents are largely out of the picture? For Patent Quality Week, I’ll be looking at the development of COVID-19 vaccines and what lessons can be drawn for reforming the patent system.
The Impact of Arthrex on Discretionary Denial of IPR Petitions
The institution of the inter partes review (IPR) process established in 2012 by the passing of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) created tremendous opportunities for post-grant challenges of weak and unused patents.
DOJ’s 2015 Business Review Letter for IEEE and 2020 Supplemental Response
Standard Essential Patents (SEP’s) consist of patents covering technologies that are unavoidable (thus “essential”) in the implementation of new technologies under a standard.
Non-Compliance with §112(b) is More Than a Gamble for Claiming Computer-Implemented Inventions
For those seeking to file applications for computer-implemented inventions, it pays to be aware of some lesser known requirements for such inventions before casting the die.
Denials of Transfer Motions in Western District of Texas and Mandamus Reversals by Federal Circuit
It is no secret that the district court in the Western District of Texas (WDTX) in Waco, TX, before Judge Alan D Albright, is currently the most popular court for patent litigation. However, it is not always the most convenient court. . . . Defendants are consistently petitioning the Federal Circuit and, surprisingly, receiving support.
The Key To Lowering Drug Prices Is Improving Patent Quality
Patents are increasingly a hot topic in drug price policy conversations. So much so, that one might wonder if this newfound attention is deserved.
Startups & the U.S. Patent System: Prioritizing Quality and Balance to Promote Innovation
In this report, we aim to explore patent policy through the lens of a startup, demystify the underlying legal concepts that can often be challenging to understand, and offer concrete solutions to advance a patent system that prioritizes innovation for all.
Innovate without fear. Protect patent quality.
High-quality patents can promote innovation, while low-quality patents are frequently weaponized against startups creating confusion for innovators and restricting future growth. Startups need tools that promote quality patents while preventing people from obtaining or enforcing weak or overbroad ones.
Celebrating Patent Quality Week with High Hopes for a Stronger Patent System
There is reason for optimism this Patent Quality Week as intellectual property leaders in Congress contemplate options to strengthen the mechanisms in place to weed out weak and overly broad patents.
Many Automakers Rely On Patents, But That Doesn’t Mean All Patents Are Good For Automakers
The auto industry is an innovation leader. As major inventors, auto companies own hundreds of thousands of patents and rely on those patents to protect their innovations . . . . At the same time, auto companies are also increasingly subject to attacks from bad actors who allege patent infringement using low-quality patents that should never have been issued . . . .
Techdirt Podcast Episode 290: Patent Quality Week
Although it's taken a bit of a back seat lately, the topic of patents has long been important here at Techdirt. Now that we're in the first ever Patent Quality Week, it's time to dig back in and talk about changing the patent system and turning it into something that enables good patents without allowing so many bad ones.
Patent Quality Week: Building on Solid Ground
The US patent system is a load-bearing feature of the innovation ecosystem and American industrial policy. It’s not always the right tool for the job, but in an economic system which is built on decentralization, tinkering, and rewarding risk-takers, it works quite well.
How to Lower America’s Soaring Drug Prices
The most direct way to solve our drug-pricing crisis is to fundamentally shift our patent system.
Patent Quality Week: This One Weird Trick Could Solve Most Patent Quality Problems
Almost exactly a decade ago, I laid out my plan for fixing the patent system, which included four separate proposals, all of which I still think are good. . . . [F]or this inaugural Patent Quality Week, I wanted to focus in on a separate prong of my plan to fix the patent system, which I think would massively improve patent quality practically overnight.
Uniting to Advocate for Patent Quality
The pandemic has shuttered enough American businesses; we cannot let NPE suits be the reason that even one more business closes its doors.
The Waco Patent Court: Super NPEs Rush West to Stake their Claims
But no matter the ups or downs, Waco seems to have never lost its Wild West mentality. That is no less true for what it is quickly becoming most famous for—a steady deluge of patent litigation. There appears to be a new sheriff in town, and his plaintiff-friendly procedures and pronouncements are attracting some of the most notorious patent trolls.
USPTO on Pace to Again Issue 200+ Discretionary Denials in 2021
Even as Athrex was looming in the background, the PTAB has still managed to deny 104 petitions on procedural ground thus far in 2021. What is interesting, though, is the first quarter saw a combined total of 74 denials on procedural ground, while the second quarter saw a dip, to 30.
2021 Patent Dispute Report: First Half In Review
Even with the uncertainty looming while Arthrex was pending, it appears that it has been business as normal with a 4.3% increase in litigation and PTAB filings from the first quarter.
Why Biden and Congress cannot lose momentum on patent quality
The case for why it’s time to prioritize high patent quality to boost startups and the U.S. economy, especially as we emerge from the pandemic.