USPTO Revamps Patent Application Rules -- Expert Lawyer With Wolf Greenfield Can Give Perspective, Commentary

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - August 21, 2007) - The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Aug. 21 publishes new rules sharply limiting how applicants for patents can attempt to patent their inventions.

The highly controversial rules will have "a profound effect," says Michael T. Siekman, an intellectual property lawyer with Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C., Boston.

He can provide perspective on the rules and how they'll affect different industries.

Applicants will be limited to filing two new continuing applications and one request for continued examination as a matter of right. Each application may contain up to 25 claims, with no more than five of them independent claims.

Effected organizations may wish to consider filing such continuation applications before the new rules go into effect on Nov. 1, he says.

Wolf Greenfield, the largest law firm in New England devoted exclusively to intellectual property law, serves companies that make everything from snowboards to biotechnology pharmaceuticals to software to electronics to water-purification systems, as well as representing universities and research centers. The firm counsels clients in the areas of patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs, trade secrets, and related licensing and litigation. In 2006, the firm filed 2266 patent applications and 883 trademark applications in over 130 countries. Web: www.wolfgreenfield.com

Contact Information: To arrange an interview, contact: Henry Stimpson Stimpson Communications 508-647-0705 HStimpson@StimpsonCommunications.com Sara Crocker Wolf Greenfield 617-573-7831 scrocker@wolfgreenfield.com Morgan Feldman Wolf Greenfield 617-646-8378 mfeldman@wolfgreenfield.com