Patent Examiner Didn’t Sue PTO Too Quickly, 4th Cir. Says

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will continue to face claims that it failed to fully accommodate a patent examiner’s bulging back discs and related symptoms, a federal appeals court ruled.

A lower court erred when it found Fenyang Ajamu Stewart had to wait at least 180 days from the date he most recently amended the discrimination charge he filed with the agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Office before suing in court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said Jan. 8.

Stewart, who was representing himself, amended his charge eight times.

Addressing a related “question of ...