Intellectual Property

Since 16 March 2013 the America Invents Act (AIA) has expanded what constitutes prior art. The run-up to this law change date saw a spike in new patent applications filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from applicants wanting to take advantage of the pre-existing first-to-invent rules.

On June 24, 2013, the International Trade Commission (“ITC”) announced a pilot program for early adjudication of potentially-dispositive issues in investigations.

After an en banc hearing at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), questions remain about the patent eligibility of software under US Patent and Trademark Office rules (specifically, § 101). 

The en banc Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently could not agree on the proper approach for determining whether software-based inventions constitute patent eligible subject matter under § 101 of the patent statute or whether they fall within the judicially-created “abstract ideas” exception to patent eligibility as it has evolved under existing Supreme Court precedent.

As of April 1st, companies paying UK corporation tax can take advantage of a new tax regime, dubbed the “Patent Box,” to reduce their tax burden. Here we explain why this new regime has been put in place and how and why it might benefit your business.