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Pharma Industry Wants USPTO To Hit Brakes On Changes To Patent Continuation Practice

 
• By Brenda Sandburg

AbbVie, Amgen, Genentech, Bristol-Myers Squibb and others call on the patent office to retain the current system for continuation applications in comments on the USPTO and FDA’s proposed initiatives.

Patent
Industry opposes USPTO proposals to change the requirements for continuing patent applications. • Source: Shutterstock

Pharmaceutical companies urged the US Patent and Trademark Office not to change continuation application review procedures as the agency appears ready to do in response to concerns about patent thickets.

The patent office requested comments on its proposed initiatives to bolster the robustness and reliability of patents in an October Federal Register notice. Officials wanted feedback on a list of questions about the information needed to support patent claims and potential changes to the continuation practice, including giving greater scrutiny to continuation applications in large patent families

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