Patently-O TidBits

• PPAC Patent Report: Major reform is necessary. [LINK] [About PPAC]
• New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: On December 1, the newly revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) became effective. The rule changes are primarily stylistic rather than substantive. At times, however, it appears that the drafters traded off the goal of preserving the existing meaning in favor of clarity.  Litigators should take time to parse the changes.  [LINK]
• EPO: Norway & Croatia will become EPO members on January 1, 2008. No retroactive designation is allowed. [LINK] [LINK]
• Pro Bono: Patent Hawk reports on the recently dismissed case where an inventor sued his pro bono patent attorney for malpractice. [LINK]
• Patent Reform: Professor Dinh (Georgetown) writes in the American Spectator that we need patent reform: “The reforms proposed by the Patent Reform Act of 2007 are precisely the type of congressional action needed. The Act will remove obstacles to growth and restore balance to the patent system. In particular, the Act will protect inventors' property rights and encourage innovation by providing a meaningful administrative review process to clarify the scope and validity of patents, and the Act will clarify and modernize the damages rules, thereby eliminating the perverse incentives that foster litigation.” [LINK]
• Patent Troll Tracker: Patent reform is not a ‘boon to Chinese pirates.” [LINK]