PTO regulation would not be retroactive
Executive Summary
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office clarifies that if an injunction against its rule to limit the filing of patent continuation applications is lifted, the rule will apply only to applications filed on or after the date the rule goes into effect. A district court issued a preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the final rule and an appeal of the ruling is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (1"The Pink Sheet" DAILY, April 1, 2008). In an Aug. 7 Federal Register notice, PTO says it "anticipates that it will be some time" before the litigation over the final rule, Tafas v. Dudas, is finally resolved