USPTO Rescinds Controversial New Patent Rules

Yesterday, the USPTO announced that it is rescinding its highly controversial new patent rules and that a motion to dismiss and vacate the district court decision on these regulations litigated in Tafas v. Dudas (now Tafas v. Kappos) will be filed jointly with one of the plaintiffs-appellees, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).¹ According to the new Director of the USPTO, David Kappos, the rationale for rescinding these regulations is that "[t]he USPTO should incentivize innovation, develop rules that are responsive to its applicants' needs and help bring their products and services to market . . . [i]n taking the actions we are announcing today, we hope to engage the applicant community more effectively on improvements that will help make the USPTO more efficient, responsive, and transparent to the public." This decision ends the two-year battle between the USPTO and the applicant community, and provides a favorable outcome and relief to both patent applicants and patent