PTO Files Reply Brief in Tafas v. Dudas Appeal
Patent Docs: By Donald Zuhn — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and USPTO Director Jon Dudas filed their reply brief today in the Tafas v. Dudas appeal (a copy of the brief can be obtained here). We previously reported on the filing of opening appeal briefs by the PTO, GSK, and Dr. Tafas.The Patent Office begins by arguing that the Final Rules (sometimes referred to as the continuation and claims rules) fall within the Office’s rulemaking authority. On this issue, the PTO asserts that “[i]t is the settled law in this Circuit that USPTO’s interpretation of the Patent Act, made in…