WATERFORD, VA -- On Wednesday, October 17, 2007, Gene Quinn a prominent patent attorney, the founder of IPWatchdog.com and current blogger for the Practising Law Institute Patent Practice Center, issued a call to arms to fight the United States Patent Office's new rules that are scheduled to go into effect on November 1, 2007. In his blog posting Quinn said:
"It is virtually impossible to find anyone outside the Patent Office who thinks these new rules make any sense at all. These new rules are simply absurd… I have never been one to back away from a fight I thought worth fighting, and I am not about to start. I don't know what one person can do, but I am going to find out.
Quinn and fellow PLI blogger and Director of the PLI Patent Bar Review Course, John White, both argue that it is time to do something because the new patent rules will substantially change patent law and practice and negatively affect all companies and individuals who use the U.S. patent system. On this note, White explains that action is necessary because sending comments to the Patent Office did little or nothing to make the proposed rules better. White wrote in his blog that:
"[S]ending comments to the PTO only softened the blow. Kind of like putting carpet padding on the front of a dump truck before being run over by it. The only next step is for more companies to do what Glaxo has already courageously done. Putting up a comment to the blog is an indication of likemindedness. Sadly, it has no effect. Likewise, engaging your elected representative is nice but, in the near term, ineffective. You have 2 weeks! It is time for Patent Counsel to rally the troops, grab the pitch forks, and head for the sounds of battle…..in the Eastern District of Virginia."
White's comments relate to the fact that GlaxoSmithKline has filed a complaint with the United States Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which is known as the "Rocket Docket" for its tremendous ability to resolve cases quickly, whether by settlement or trial. A Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction has also been filed by GlaxoSmithKline, and a hearing is expect to take place either on Friday, October 26, 2007, or Wednesday, October 31, 2007.
Both Quinn and White agree that action is necessary. White suggests that it is time for companies who are users of the U.S. patent system to file their own lawsuit challenging the rules, or to at least join in GlaxoSmithKline's fight. On the other hand, Quinn says:
"Perhaps the best way to help the cause most immediately will be to file a motion with the district court requesting permission to file an amicus brief on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline, and then submit the brief with enough time for it to be considered by the court. If you are a company with a patent line item in your budget then you really need to call your patent law firm of choice today and request that they prepare and file a well reasoned amicus brief on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline, to be filed in the Eastern District of Virginia. Spending some of your patent budget for this cause will pay dividends later if the suit is successful. Trust me, you don't want to do nothing now. If the Patent Office gets away with this one what do you think future rulemaking will look like? I can't even bear to think about it."
To facilitate matters Quinn has also agreed to post any arguments or suggestions he receives to his PLI blog, saying:
"Given that the hearing may be as early as October 26, 2007, we do not have much time, so if you do not have the funds available to submit your own amicus we will need to cooperate and coordinate, because letters to the district court are not going to work and may actually backfire by upsetting the court. So here is my recommendation: Anyone who knows of any arguments and has the time to write them up, please send them to me at gquinn (at) ipwatchdog dot com. To be truly helpful don't just send me vague arguments, but rather complete arguments together with reasoning and citations to cases, statutes and rules. I will then post the arguments that I get to this blog for anyone to see, use, modify and build upon. Therefore, anything sent to me will be interpreted to be donated to the cause and capable of being used freely by others. You will be given credit for your work unless you request to remain anonymous."
To read the blog posts mentioned above and to obtain copies of filings in GlaxoSmithKline v. United States Patent & Trademark Office go to:
http://www.ipwatchdog.com/gsk_uspto.html
For more information contact:
Gene Quinn
Phone: 703-740-9835
http://www.whitequinn.com
or
John White
Phone: 703-740-9835
http://www.whitequinn.com
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