Kerr & Wagstaffe Responds to Call for "Patent Reform"

NEW YORK, NY, June 05, 2012 (Press-News.org) Politico has released an article that considers the remaining work necessary for the favorable completion of patent reform. Patent industry executives are calling for the U.S. Patent Trademark Office (PTO) to make further changes in its processes, as private sector professionals are already remarking on the weaknesses of the patent reform law--which has not yet been implemented. Kerr & Wagstaffe, a law firm based in the San Francisco area of California, believes that a balance between fair and efficient PTO operational procedures is exactly what the industry is looking for.

According to the aforementioned article, several industry professionals take issue with current PTO reform attempts. Carl Horton, the Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for General Electric, stated that "They [the procedures] are not nearly as streamlined as they should be, and they also lack procedural safeguards that would better balance the proceeding between patent owners and patent challengers."

The article reports that Eli Lily, the General Counsel for Robert Armitage, agrees with Horton. He is quoted as saying, "The office has not fully embraced this procedure. Nor has it sought to optimize its potential for increasing the reliability and quality issues."

Kerr & Wagstaffe sees the issue as one of a balance between the interests of patent owners and patent challengers. The organization has remarked that a compromise between efficient legal action and due diligence must be created in order to appease requests and maintain the best interests of all parties involved.

"It's a sliding scale," commented Ivo Labar, a partner with the Kerr & Wagstaffe firm. "On one end is your hypothetical review procedure that everyone believes is fair, but is therefore lengthy. On the other end is a speedy, efficient process that sacrifices fairness and keeps costs low. The PTO's task is to strike the right balance."

ABOUT:

Based in the area of San Francisco, California, Kerr & Wagstaffe LLP is a law firm that provides services to members of the community. In fact, the firm holds a reputation as a reliable resource for representation in a wide-range of cutting-edge litigation. In the past, Kerr & Wagstaffe has taken on cases regarding patents pertaining to Wi-Fi technology, the development of legal procedures for domain name registration, and the representation of business and individuals involved in employee mobility and trade secret situations. Furthermore, Kerr & Wagstaffe works in a variety of practice areas, including employment law, First Amendment issues, intellectual property rights, and class action litigation. Kerr & Wagstaffe employs legal professionals who possess varied trial and appellate experience in an effort to best represent clients.

Website: http://kerrwagstaffe.net/