Behind The Scenes Of A Pre-Appeal Brief Review

Significant Developments In The Russian Court System - Creation Of The Intellectual Property Court

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Once the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) issues a final rejection of a patent application, an applicant is faced with an important decision of what to do next. The options include: filing a Notice of Appeal, filing a Request for Continued Examination (“RCE”), filing an After Final Response or Amendment, and abandoning the application. There are many factors that may influence this decision, but one option that may be overlooked is filing a Notice of Appeal accompanied by a Pre-Appeal Brief Request for Review (the “Request”). But, what really occurs within the PTO once an applicant files the Request? This article examines when applicants and practitioners may wish to implement this option, as well as how to take advantage of this process more effectively.

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As of December 2011, two federal constitutional laws were enacted in Russia, whereby a new specialised intellectual property court that is intended to deal with cases concerning protection of IP rights will be set up for the first time in Russia.

The IP Court was necessitated by an increased number of IP disputes in Russia. It is hoped that creation of such a court will enhance the efficiency of the Russian system for protection of IP rights in accord with international standards of IP protection.

The IP Court will be set up by February 1, 2013, which will entail a number of substantial changes to the procedure of disputes resolution in Russia. However, some of the changes are already applicable from the effective date of the new laws.

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