Posts Tagged ‘PCT’
A Rumor is afloat on EPO divisionals
I just heard a rumor that the administrative council of the European Patent Office (EPO) has voted to amend the rule setting a 24-month time limit within which European divisional applications may be filed. According to the rumor, the only criteria for filing a divisional application would be that the EPO application be pending as of the divisional filing date. This change is supposed to take effect as of April 1, 2014.
I’ll let you know if this is correct or not!
Next AIA implementation date – March 16, 2013
As of March 16, 2013, the U.S. is changing from a First-to-Invent (FTI) system to a First-Inventor-to-File (FITF) system. The only countries that have ever used the FTI system were Canada, the Philippines and the U.S. Canada switched to a FITF system in 1989, the Philippines switched in 1998 and the U.S. switched in 2011 (effective as of March 16, 2013). So now the entire world is on a FITF system.
In a first-to-invent system, the prima facie right to the invention is given to first person who invents the actual invention, no matter when the application was filed (subject to proof of the date of invention).
When is that application due?
**This article is an update of the IPconnect blog article dated October 14th, 2010 and supersedes that article.**
You have a provisional application that was filed on June 15, 2012 and your client wants to file both a U.S. utility and a PCT application claiming priority to the provisional. June 15, 2013 is a Saturday, so you think that you can file both applications on Monday, June 17, 2013 because of the Sat/Sun/Holiday rule in the US, right?