August 21, 2007: The US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) Published Changes to Practice for Continued Examination Filings, Patent Applications Containing Patentably Indistinct Claims, and Examination of Claim in Patent Applications (the "New Rules"), most of which had an effective date of November 1, 2007. THEN, on October 31, 2007, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a Preliminary Injunction enjoining the USPTO form implementing the New Rules. The resolution of this case is not expected to start until well into next year. The Court noted the retroactive aspects of the Rules as well as the burdens imposed to unlimited continuation practice and unlimited claiming. While the Court may question the authority of the USPTO in invoke the burdens, the US Congress continues its efforts at patent law reform in order to clarify and enable the USPTO to implement such rules as the New Rules (at least as to new applications).
