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ARTICLE · 12 OCTOBER 2009

Rescission Sweeps Away Controversial Patent Rules

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As anticipated, the new Director of the United State Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), David Kappos, officially rescinded the controversial proposed patent rule changes yesterday.

United StatesIntellectual Property

Article by Jeffrey S. Whittle , Ryan D. Gum, Michael F. Hay and Denver S. Bisignano

As anticipated, the new Director of the United State Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), David Kappos, officially rescinded the controversial proposed patent rule changes yesterday. Click here to read the press release. The Kappos action sweeps away years of rule drafting and litigation surrounding the proposed rules and leaves a clean procedural slate on which Kappos will likely write new rules in the not-so-distant future. Click here to read the Bracewell client alert from August 7, 2009, forecasting the rescission. The USPTO, along with GlaxoSmithKline (one of the two plaintiffs in the original federal district court case of Tafas v. Dudas, now styled Tafas v. Kappos1, filed against the USPTO that sought to prevent the rules from taking effect) will file a joint motion to dismiss and vacate the district court decision, thereby making the pending appeal to the Federal

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