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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently published sweeping rule changes that effect the basic nature of filing multiple patent applications or even single applications having many claims related to the same basic technology. The new rules affect such fundamental aspects of patent law as:

• The number of claims one can file in a single application
• The number of claim which may be present in a family of related applications
• The number of related applications one may file
• The substantial burden now placed on applicants if their inventions need to exceed any of these new limitations. 

IP owners, applicants, and practitioners must immediately begin altering their mindsets and practices to accommodate the new rules. Failure to do so will result in delayed and more expensive prosecution and, in the worst case, loss of patent rights. 

Highlights of the most pressing changes, along with recommendations on how to best to cope with these changes, are discussed in a new Legal Update by Pryor Cashman partner and patent attorney Barry E. Negrin. To read the update, please click here.