Title 37 published on 2012-07-01
The following are only the Rules published in the Federal Register after the published date of Title 37.
For a complete list of all Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices view the Rulemaking tab.
2012-08-06; vol. 77 # 151 - Monday, August 6, 2012 77 FR 46615 - Changes To Implement Miscellaneous Post Patent Provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, United States Patent and Trademark Office Final rule. Effective date: The changes in this final rule are effective on September 16, 2012. 37 CFR Parts 1, 5, 10, 11, and 41 Summary The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) expands the scope of information that any party may cite in a patent file to include written statements of a patent owner filed in a proceeding before a Federal court or the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) regarding the scope of any claim of the patent, and provides for how such information may be considered in ex parte reexamination, inter partes review, and post grant review. The AIA also provides for an estoppel that may attach with respect to the filing of an ex parte reexamination request subsequent to a final written decision in an inter partes review or post grant review proceeding. The Office is revising the rules of practice to implement these post-patent provisions, as well as other miscellaneous provisions, of the AIA.
2012-07-31; vol. 77 # 147 - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 77 FR 45247 - Implementation of Statute of Limitations Provisions for Office Disciplinary Proceedings
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, United States Patent and Trademark Office Final rule. Effective Date: The changes in this final rule are effective on August 30, 2012. 37 CFR Part 11 Summary The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) requires that disciplinary proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) be commenced not later than the earlier of either the date that is 10 years after the date on which the misconduct forming the basis of the proceeding occurred, or one year from the date on which the misconduct forming the basis of the proceeding was made known to an officer or employee of the Office, as prescribed in the regulations governing disciplinary proceedings. The Office is adopting procedural rules which: Specify that a disciplinary complaint shall be filed within one year after the date on which the Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) Director receives a grievance forming the basis of the complaint, and in no event more than ten years after the date on which the misconduct forming the basis for the proceeding occurred; define grievance as a written submission from any source received by the OED Director that presents possible grounds for discipline of a specified practitioner; and clarify that the one-year time frame for filing a complaint may be tolled by written agreement. The Office will evaluate these procedures in the future to determine their effectiveness. If the new one-year time frame proves to be administratively unworkable or impedes the effectiveness of the disciplinary process, the Office may issue a new notice of proposed rulemaking.
