On September 17, the Patent Office Practice Committee held a virtual event entitled Six Months since the Shutdown: What Have I Missed? The event brought attendees up to speed on United States Patent and Trademark Office news since the Massachusetts shutdown began in March. Nicole A. Palmer of Lando & Anastasi, LLP opened with a wide-ranging USPTO practice update.

Highlights included a discussion of the revised fee schedule effective October 2, 2020, the new Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program, the sunset of the transitional program for Covered Business Method (CBM) patents, AI-related developments and various policy initiatives at the agency. Jonathan B. Roses of Wolf Greenfield covered news from the PTAB, including the Office’s Motions to Amend Study update, as well as a review of precedential and informative decisions designated during the last six months. The decisions covered issues such as discretionary denials of institution, qualification as a printed publication, objective evidence of non-obviousness, and assessment of substitute claims.

Timothy V. Fisher of Pierce Atwood, LLP discussed the Office’s COVID-19 related initiatives including relief related to due dates and fees, as well as four new Office programs directly related to COVID-19. The new programs include the COVID-19 Deferred-Fee Provisional Patent Application Pilot Program, the Prioritized Examination Pilot Program for Small and Micro Entities, the Patents 4 Partnerships online IP marketplace, and the COVID-19 Response Resource Center.

The Patent Office Practice Committee would like to thank everyone who attended the event and everyone who helped out behind the scenes to produce it.