IP managers and technology transfer officers need to manage their patent filings

In the May issue of IP Management & Valuation, Steven Hansen of Hansen IP Law listed strategies IP managers can use to keep patent applications on track (article):

1. Check with the USPTO and with the relevant office in other countries on the status of your patent applications.
2. Perform periodic reviews of your pending applications and make adjustments where necessary. Before the examination of your application begins, amend the claims to take into account any product changes. Communicate any claim changes and about the nature of any prior art during the examination phase. After a patent has been allowed, but before the patent is issued, in the U.S. the inventor has the ability to file continuation applications.
3. Perform periodic reviews of your competitors’ technologies and the marketplace.