Patent term adjustment in the U.S.

Author

Richard Bone
McDermott Will & Emery LLP, Menlo Park, CA

Presentation

256th ACS National Meeting - Boston
Monday, August 20, 2018, 2:15PM
"Extensions to Patent Term in the U.S. & Worldwide"

Abstract

The U.S. has also for almost two decades operated a scheme for compensating all patentees for certain types of delay that occur  during examination of a patent application. This system has been tested in litigation many times now, invariably by pharmaceutical companies. I will explain the basic structure of patent term adjustment calculation, illustrated by several of the key cases that have probed potential ambiguities in the statutory framework. I will also explain the potential perils of obviousness type double patenting in complex patent families. The combination of patent term adjustment and patent term extension offers a unique framework for maximizing patent term in the U.S.