In representing Symbollon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. against the Commissioner of Patents & Trademarks, Anderson Kill attorneys secured a novel ruling that defined the rights of a patent applicant filing for international patent protection under the Patent Cooperation Treaty ("PCT").

The Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held that where a PCT application or supplemental submission lacks some obvious detail, such as a payment authorization, or contains an obvious error, the Patent & Trademark Office ("PTO") must notify the applicant and provide an opportunity to remedy the error. The PTO's failure to so notify the applicant is in derogation of its duties under the PCT Guidelines and serves as a second error, compounding the applicant's error. Thus, the court ordered the Commissioner to retroactively correct the application. Anderson Kill attorneys represented Symbollon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. A copy of the decision may be found here.