In the equivalent of two and a half workdays, that examiner must analyze the application and then search through all the existing documents in that field to find any instances of prior art (see " In the path of an avalanche").
Finding prior art in the traditional, offline way is often very costly, not least in researchers.
Because the perceived quality of patent awards has deteriorated--critics complain that they were given almost indiscriminately to dot-coms for only the slightest changes in prior art--even minor patent applications must be carefully (and expensively) vetted by patent lawyers as protection against lawsuits by aggrieved patent holders.
In the Final Office Action, three examiners of the PTO considered TiVo's response and, in a detailed 32-page decision, finally concluded that the software claims were unpatentable in view of two prior art references.
ENGADGET: USPTO rules against TiVo's "Time Warp" patent, but the fight vs. DISH rages on, again
But the stipulation under the law is for the prior art to be sufficient to negate or invalidate the Apple patents in this case, it had to be sufficiently similar or, more importantly, it had to be interchangeable.
BBC: Apple versus Samsung: Full interview with the jury foreman
Eventually the patent database becomes rich enough with prior art to reach an equilibrium, but the errors in the interim produce a batch of legacy patents that never should have issued.
And as a result of that you have heard a lot of hype in the media about did we turn our back on prior art?
BBC: Apple versus Samsung: Full interview with the jury foreman
In essence, with the AIA, Congress has enacted a definition of prior art that will slowly displace the old definitions, but it may take decades for the new legislation to fully displace the old definitions of prior art.
As Cheryl points out in her article, the AIA expands the scope of what is available as prior art.
And in example after example, when we put it to the test, the older prior art was just that.
BBC: Apple versus Samsung: Full interview with the jury foreman
In U.S. District Court, Vonage s submissions of prior art were dismissed, and the company was ruled to have infringed on the Verizon patents.
应用推荐