USPTO panel invites US Federal Circuit to revisit double-patenting doctrine
By Melissa Ritti ( August 11, 2026, 21:13 GMT | Comment) -- Precedent requires the US Patent and Trademark Office to apply obviousness-type double patenting based on a risk of multiple-owner harassment even in the absence of unjustified patent-term extension — but Director John Squires is openly questioning whether that should remain the law. The debate has heightened significance for the pharmaceutical industry, with recent research showing both OTDP rejections and terminal disclaimers in nearly half of all small-molecule drug patents studied.The US Patent and Trademark Office last week reinstated an examiner’s rejection of 18 claims of a patent application on obviousness-type double patenting (OTDP) grounds — an outcome it presented as being compelled by binding appellate precedent....
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
- Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
- Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
- Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
- Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline
Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.