PTO, Immunotherapy Firm Debate Attorney Fees Provision In Supreme Court Briefs

Mealey's (February 1, 2019, 9:34 AM EST) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — Because Section 145 of the Patent Act does not explicitly permit the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to recover attorney fees in connection with a patent applicant’s challenge of an agency rejection, an immunotherapy company tells the U.S. Supreme Court in a Jan. 22 brief that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals correctly found that, under the American Rule, the parties in an underlying patent application dispute were each obligated to bear their own costs in this area (Andre Iancu v. NantKwest Inc., No. 18-801, U.S. Sup.)....