You have no doubt heard the news that the New Continuation Rules proposed by the USPTO have now been killed off.

So patent applicants in the US can now rest assured that they can file continuation applications ad infinitum in the neverending quest for the perfect claim (or at least to preserve the right to file new claims to catch a new competitor product).

Is that the end of the story?  Well probably.

As Hal Wegner has pointed out, the USPTO has every reason to try and add a greater rule making ability to the amendments currently before congress (which would effectively statutorily overule the court decision).

Stay tuned, but don’t expect anything soon.