terminal disclaimer

As the FTC’s comment letter states, the proposed rule seeks to promote innovation and competition by preventing practices that can facilitate the creation of overlapping patent rights known as patent thickets, which can block or delay competition. The Commission’s latest comment to the USPTO is part of the FTC’s broader efforts to address patent abuse that can threaten competition, including practices that can delay or prevent less expensive prescription drugs from entering the market.

FTC Submits Comment Supporting Proposed USPTO Terminal Disclaimer Rule Henry Liu, Director of the Bureau of Competition 2024

The FTC’s comment focuses on the USPTO’s proposed rule involving the use of a terminal disclaimer, which is a binding stipulation by a patent applicant that the patent’s term will not extend beyond the duration of an existing duplicative patent. They are used to overcome USPTO patent claim rejections for claims in a patent application that are found to be essentially the same as those in a prior patent, which is referred to as nonstatutory double patenting

FTC Submits Comment Supporting Proposed USPTO Terminal Disclaimer Rule Henry Liu, Director of the Bureau of Competition 2024