On March 22, 2024, Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) quoted Michele Van Patten Frank on the challenges of running a patent prosecution group. According to Frank, these practices can be very resource intensive.
“This is a very complex area of law,” she explained. “It involves sophisticated legal issues and country-specific rules and procedures.”
Frank added, ““Because of that complexity, it can be more expensive in certain areas to do that work and manage it correctly. There can be challenges to getting it done within certain client budgets.”
She also touched on the transfer of skills, noting how firms can make patent prosecution more cost efficient by leveraging patent specialists, who can help with form preparation and filings. “The specialists support both the patent lawyers and the patent agents,” she explained. “Then clients can get what they need, which is quality applications filed at a reasonable price.”
Franked also mentioned the significance of this work for clients: “In general, life sciences patents are super valuable, so there’s a lot of investment in life sciences.”
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