David Barr and Kaitlyn Rodnick published “U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Rejects 'Contingent' Terminal Disclaimer” in the June 2024 issue of the Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal. The following is an excerpt:
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has rejected a “contingent” terminal disclaimer filed by Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Acadia) for a patent it owns that is being challenged in a pending litigation as invalid for obviousness-type double patenting. The USPTO ruled that terminal disclaimers could not be made contingent on the occurrence of a future event, in this case the outcome of a double patenting invalidity challenge to the subject patent.
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