Courtenay Brinckerhoff Discusses USPTO’s Switch to Electronic Patents

Foley & Lardner LLP Partner Courtenay Brinckerhoff is quoted in the Managing IP article, “In-house seek swift continuations amid electronic patent switch,” offering insight on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) decision to switch to electronic patents, meaning applicants will have less time to file continuations.

Brinckerhoff, discussing a suggested delaying strategy that may allow businesses more time to weigh the pros and cons of moving forward with a continuation application, said that applicants can still spend internal resources or outside counsel costs when filing continuations even if they don’t pay the fees.

“You don’t want to waste resources by doing this as a matter of course,” she added.

Brinckerhoff explained that sometimes companies need more time to determine whether their claims cover all the necessary products and prevent designarounds. Now that the USPTO has switched to electronic patents, certain companies will have to approach situations like these with greater care and delay decisions less frequently.

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