Double Patenting Ripe for Fresh Fed. Circ. To Clarify Things

Sterne Kessler Director Jackie W. Bonilla, Ph.D. is quoted in Law360 on the recent decision and brief from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on the complex doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting.

Bonilla noted the complicated nature of obviousness-type double patenting, “it’s like four-dimensional chess to figure out what’s going on here, in any given case.” She continued that it often leaves litigants trying to “figure out how to work their way through this morass.”

The focus on the doctrine’s policy rationales and potential downsides adds another layer in litigation and patent prosecution, adding “so I think most people thought it was pretty complex and messy before and now it might be even more.”