US Court says no to USPTO rule changes

The debacle over the USPTO's proposed rule changes appears to have reached a further milestone, following the last-minute injunction preventing new rules from being implemented on 1 November last year (see here). Patently-O reports that the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has today decided to issue a permanent injunction against the USPTO. The Court has granted summary judgment and has made the rules void for being "otherwise not in accordance with the law" and "in excess of statutory jurisdiction and authority" (IPKat translation: ultra vires; why can't these Americans just speak normal English?).

Patent attorneys in the US, and indeed R.O.W., can now afford a slightly longer sigh of relief now that their clients will not be facing further complications at the USPTO (which the IPKat thinks is already quite complicated enough) for some time to come. Merpel wonders what all the fuss is about: wouldn't all this added complication mean more money for attorneys anyway?