Patent Office Proposes Double-Patenting Disclaimer Rule Change

The US Patent and Trademark Office proposed to add a requirement for terminal disclaimers filed to address nonstatutory double patenting, the agency announced Thursday.

The proposed rule would require a patentee to agree that the patent covered by the terminal disclaimer will be enforceable only if the patent has never been tied through one or more terminal disclaimers to a patent where any claim has been held invalid over prior art.

The rule aims to reduce costs, expedite patent disputes, and offer increased certainty to the public, the PTO said.

This story was produced by Bloomberg Law Automation.