Bound by precedent, USPTO defends patent rule questioned by director
By Melissa Ritti ( August 17, 2026, 20:18 GMT | Insight) -- Eight days after US Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires suggested that the risk of multiple-owner harassment should not remain an independent basis for obviousness-type double patenting, his office asked a US appellate court to uphold a rejection based solely on that rationale.The US Patent and Trademark Office told the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit last week that its precedent mandates an obviousness-type double patenting (OTDP) rejection even if there is no risk of unjustified patent-term extension (PTE), so long as a possibility of later harassment by multiple patent owners exists....
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