For more than a decade, § 101 has been the dark cloud over U.S. patent practice. Even companies with sophisticated R&D pipelines routinely find themselves stuck in eligibility quicksand, watching well-designed innovations get bounced as “abstract ideas” or “mere data processing.” Yet the surprising truth is this: the companies that consistently avoid § 101 headaches aren’t doing anything exotic. They aren’t filing longer applications, or denser ones, or even necessarily more

Government shutdowns create widespread operational uncertainty. The impact on intellectual property agencies varies significantly because these offices are funded in different ways. For businesses, creators, and in-house counsel, understanding those distinctions is key to maintaining rights and avoiding preventable delays. USPTO: Continuing Operations Under Fee-Funded Reserves The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) remains open and operating normally. Unlike many federa

As the calendar winds down, most businesses are focused on closing the books and planning for the next fiscal year. But one...

The Harvard Letter: A Wake-Up Call In August 2025, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sent Harvard University a letter that landed like a...

The U.S. Department of Commerce is considering a dramatic change to the patent maintenance fee system: replacing or supplementing the...

As we celebrate the Fourth of July, it’s natural to reflect not only on the birth of American independence but also on the principles and...

As companies grow beyond their national borders, the complexity of managing an international intellectual property (IP) portfolio...

Patent eligibility law under § 101 remains foggy on its clearest day. But a rejection of your patent claims under § 101 isn’t necessarily...

If your company needs help with protecting its “crown jewel” technology, you probably already know that patents are important. What you...

Patent Attorneys Must Be Business Advisors A patent attorney who sits in a home office filing applications on demand does little for the...

For start-up companies such as university spin-offs, medical device patents are crucial to grow the business to, for example, become an...