International Patent Application - Amendments to Claims

[Federal Register: July 1, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 125)] [Rules and Regulations] [Page 31372-31373] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr01jy09-8]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office 37 CFR Part 1 [Docket No.: PTO-P-2009-0025] RIN 0651-AC34 July 2009 Revision of Patent Cooperation Treaty Procedures AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce. ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is revising the rules of practice in title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to conform them to certain amendments made to the Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) that take effect on July 1, 2009. These amendments result in a change to the procedure under the PCT whereby applicants may make amendments to the claims in an international application. DATES: Effective Date: The changes to 37 CFR 1.485 are effective on July 1, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard R. Cole, Senior Legal Examiner, Office of PCT Legal Administration (OPCTLA) directly by telephone at (571) 272-3281, or by facsimile at (571) 273-0459.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: During the September 2008 meeting of the Governing Bodies of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the PCT Assembly adopted various amendments to the Regulations under the PCT that enter into force on July 1, 2009. The amended PCT Regulations were published in the PCT Gazette of December 11, 2008 (38/ 2008), at pages 166-167. The amendments include provisions which modify the procedures for making amendments to the claims in an international application. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) enables an applicant to file one application, ``an international application'' or a ``PCT application,'' in a standardized format in a PCT Receiving Office and have that application acknowledged as a regular national or regional filing in as many Contracting States to the PCT as the applicant desires. The requirements for PCT applications are specified in the PCT Treaty Articles and the Regulations issued under the PCT Treaty (the PCT Regulations). Certain requirements of the PCT Treaty and PCT Regulations are reiterated in the USPTO's rules of practice in 37 CFR for the convenience of patent applicants. Changes to the PCT Regulations (PCT Rules 46.5 and 66.8) that govern the manner of making amendments to the claims in international applications will become effective on July 1, 2009. Under the current PCT Regulations, applicants are required to submit replacement pages for only those pages which contain changes, where under the revised PCT Regulations applicants will be required to submit a complete set of the claims when amending any of the claims. The USPTO's rules of practice in 37 CFR (37 CFR 1.485) set forth the current practice for amending claims and must be changed to be consistent with the changes to the PCT Regulations. The changes to 37 CFR 1.485 are effective on July 1, 2009, and apply to any amendment filed in an international application on or after that date regardless of the filing date of the international application.

Michael Jackson Patent

Michael Jackson is known as the King of Pop, but did you know he was also an inventor? Although he made most of his dance moves through talent and practice, when he and fellow dancers leaned at a 45 degree angle, they were wearing special shoes Michael created. Michael patented the special shoes as Patent 5,255,452, Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion.

Michael is not the only celebrity who has a patent. Wikipedia has an A-Z list of celebrity patent holders including Hedy Lamar for her Patent 2,292,387, Secret communication system, which is the basis for modern wireless communication systems such as cordless telephones and WiFi Internet connections.