Court grants GSK's motion against U.S. patent office

WASHINGTON The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has granted GlaxoSmithKline’s motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from enforcing a new final rule on patent claims.

The rule stated that if a patent application contains more than five independent claims or more than 25 total claims, the applicant must provide an examination-support document to the PTO. Also, the rule adjusts the number of continuing applications parties are allowed to file after submitting an initial application.

In the complaint filed By GlaxoSmithKline on Oct. 9, the company stated that the PTO doesn’t have the authority to change the rules because Congress still has not finished passing the Patent Reform Act, which would give the PTO the authority to do so.

GlaxoSmithKline is not the only one who is complaining; Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Biotechnology Industry Organization also have expressed their objections to the rule by filing permissions to file amicus briefs.