http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2007/11/15/annual-patent-report-shows-growing-backlog-in-key-technology-areas/ Business + Technology in the Exponential Economy Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:54:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2007/11/15/annual-patent-report-shows-growing-backlog-in-key-technology-areas/comment-page-1/#comment-6171 BlawgIT - Internet Patent, Trademark and Copyright Issues with Attorney Brett J. Trout, P.C. Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:01:13 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/2007/11/15/annual-patent-report-shows-growing-backlog-in-key-technology-areas/#comment-6171 [...] Expert examination As you might imagine, if there is already a patent or trademark on your exact invention or name, rejecting your application takes little effort. Not surprisingly, the vetting becomes much more complex when the existing registrations are close, but not exact. Making determinations of unregistrable similarity requires someone with an undergraduate degree in engineering or science in the case of patents, and a law degree in the case of trademarks. With 467,000 patent applications and 394,000 trademark applications being filed every year, there is somewhat more demand for these jobs than there are applicants to fulfill them. Right now, the United States Patent and Trademark Office(USPTO) has a backlog of over 1 million patent applications. [...] [...] Expert examination As you might imagine, if there is already a patent or trademark on your exact invention or name, rejecting your application takes little effort. Not surprisingly, the vetting becomes much more complex when the existing registrations are close, but not exact. Making determinations of unregistrable similarity requires someone with an undergraduate degree in engineering or science in the case of patents, and a law degree in the case of trademarks. With 467,000 patent applications and 394,000 trademark applications being filed every year, there is somewhat more demand for these jobs than there are applicants to fulfill them. Right now, the United States Patent and Trademark Office(USPTO) has a backlog of over 1 million patent applications. [...]

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