Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Head of the U.S. patent office to step down


The popular director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, David Kappos, will be stepping down in January, according to an email sent to agency employees on Monday.
In the email, Kappos said he would be leaving around the end of January and thanked agency employees for their work. A patent office spokesman confirmed that Kappos would step down.
Kappos, who is famous for his long hours, has been popular with patent attorneys and industry for being responsive to their desire for more communication and a reduced backlog in patent applications.
Under Kappos, the huge and much-criticized backlog of patent applications fell from more than 750,000 in 2009 to about 605,000 currently, according to patent office data.
He also improved communication between the patent office and lawyers who help companies apply for patents.
"He's also given examiners more time to work on cases, especially at the beginning," said Gene Quinn, a patent attorney and blogger for IPWatchdog Inc. "He encouraged examiners to not just reject claims but to make suggestions for patentability. He did fundamentally alter the relationship between the attorney and examiners." - Reuters

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Talam cannot be Trinity


High-end project developer Trinity Group Sdn Bhd has succeeded in stopping the former Talam Corporation Bhd from calling itself Trinity Corporation Berhad.
The Puchong-based developer has won the right to stop Trinity Corp from using the name after claiming that it has caused confusion over the widely publicised Talam Corp debt recovery exercise with the Selangor Government.
“The recent Talam debt recovery exercise has caused a lot of confusion among our customers, business partners and the general public,” said Trinity Group managing director Datuk Neoh Soo Keat during a press conference here.
“There were many enquiries urging us to clarify the issue, as many mistook our company for Talam Corporation Berhad.
“This confusion in the marketplace has greatly affected our business,” Neoh added. 
Trinity Group was awarded the injunction by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Sept 26 - almost a year after the suit was filed in Oct 2011. - Star Biz