News
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Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights:

  • a blog post detailing how “[t]otal utility patent grants are down about 7% for calendar year 2021”;
  • another blog post explaining how, “[o]n January 6, 2022, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced a new program with the goal of increasing examiner efficiency”;
  • yet another blog post noting that this Blog “has an interesting post, including some briefs, on [this] week’s oral argument in SAS Institute Inc. v. World Programming Ltd.“; and
  • an article discussing a recent takeaway in which a “Federal Circuit’s decision affirms the principle that competitive prejudice is an essential element of a viable bid protest.”

Dennis Crouch authored a blog post for PatentlyO explaining how “[t]otal utility patent grants are down about 7% for calendar year 2021.” Crouch proceeded to detail how “[t]he Office has almost eliminated unwanted delay in examination.”

Michael Borella published a blog post for Patent Docs discussing how, “[o]n January 6, 2022, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced a new program with the goal of increasing examiner efficiency.” Borella noted that “[t]he Program allows applicants to, in certain circumstances, not include a substantive reply to a 35 U.S.C. § 101 rejection in an Office action response.”

Bill Vobach wrote a blog post for 717 Madison Place highlighting that “[t]he FedCircuitBlog has an interesting post, including some briefs, on [this] week’s oral argument in SAS Institute Inc. v. World Programming Ltd.“

Aron C Beezley and Patrick R. Quigley filed an article with The National Law Review assessing how the Federal Circuit, in System Studies & Simulation, Inc. v. United States, “recently held that there generally is no presumption that a protester has suffered competitive prejudice, even where the protester has successfully demonstrated that an agency’s evaluation was irrational.” Beezley and Quigley went on to note that “the Federal Circuit’s decision affirms the principle that competitive prejudice is an essential element of a viable bid protest.”