DPP ProSearch is intended to fill a gap in the resources available to design patent practitioners by providing a searchable database of design patent applications containing at least one non-final rejection. 

 

New case law and administrative decisions related to design patents are readily available from many commercial and free sources.  These decisions often have an important impact on the design patent prosecution process. When dealing with these new decisions, examiners may develop different understandings and interpretations of how the legal principles should be applied to new fact patterns and designs. For various reasons, these different interpretations often are not appealed in the USPTO, or to the PTAB and the Courts.

 

A practitioner dealing with rejections and objections related to these interpretations currently does not have easily searchable access to the examiner’s interpretations and analysis. Searchable access is important so that practitioners may become aware of the latest trends and thinking by USPTO design patent examiners, the successful and unsuccessful arguments being made by fellow practitioners, and which examiner interpretations appear persuasive and may help your application achieve success.

 

The ProSearch database may be a valuable resource to:

 

1.  Obtain prior application examples to strengthen and support your arguments (See Persuasive Value of Prior Design Patents and Applications);

 

2.  Research how other applicants have handled similar objections and rejections and the interesting and creative approaches other applicants have taken;

 

3.  Research how a particular examiner has handled similar objections and rejections;

 

4.  Discover where conflicts may exist in examiner approaches;

 

5.  Learn about lesser-known techniques such as effective use of appendices, what language to use in them, and the numerous procedural devices available to respond to objections and rejections;

 

6.  Research how examiners are interpreting developing case law such as In re Owens (new matter rejections), In re Maatita (definiteness rejections), and issues such as obviousness, “teaching away” by prior art references, broken line statements, and more;

7.  Learn about how to avoid potentially costly and time-consuming mistakes made during prosecution;

 

8.  Obtain clever tips on broadening coverage and strengthening protection;

 

9.  Increase understanding and application of design patent prosecution principles; and

 

10.  Obtain Sample Forms and Documents.