At the end of each fiscal year running from October 1 through September 30, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) provides a summary of its trial statistics. [1] This information provides practitioners with useful insight into trends at the PTAB regarding petitions filed, institution rates, and outcomes. This blog post highlights the statistics and
The Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act was introduced on June 22, 2023, with the aim to reform the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The PREVAIL Act serves as a supplement to the proposed STRONGER Patents Act, introduced in 2019.
The drafters have identified three key goals of the
As the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) develop[1], the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) continues to grapple with a key question: Can an AI be an inventor?
On February 14, 2023, the USPTO posted a notice on Regulations.gov titled “Request for Comments: Artificial Intelligence and Inventorship[2].” This notice, however
On October 18, 2022, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) posted two notices on Regulations.gov seeking public input on the requirements to practice before the USPTO and Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The goal is to expand admission criteria so “more Americans, including those from traditionally under-represented and under-resourced communities, can participate
On October 4, 2022, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it would be extending the Motion to Amend (MTA) Pilot Program at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) for a second time—now set to run through September 16, 2024.[1]
The MTA Pilot Program was initiated on March 15, 2019,
Since its inception, the PTAB has gained a negative reputation among patent owners, even being referred to as “patent death squads.”[1] However, in the past year the Federal Circuit has provided a glimmer of hope for patent owners through the expansion of inter partes review (IPR) estoppel. Because of Cal. Inst. of Tech. v.
Recently, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) announced a new interim procedure for decision circulation and internal review. This interim procedure is aimed at promoting feedback, eliminating inconsistencies, and increasing transparency during the decision pre-issuance process. The push for increased transparency comes as a result of last year’s Supreme Court decision in United States
Late last year, the PTAB published its final round of statistics for 2021. From October 1, 2020 to November 30, 2021, 1629 petitions were filed at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The majority of petitions filed are for Inter Partes Review (IPR), with less than 10% of petitions filed for Post Grant Review
On October 26, 2021, Chief Administrative Patent Judge (“APJ”) Scott R. Boalick of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) lifted a stay that he issued on May 1, 2020, pausing all activity in PTAB cases that were remanded to PTAB from the Federal Circuit under Arthrex.[1] Within the order lifting the stay,
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) recently released an updated Orange Book patent/biologic patent study on August 11, 2021. This is the third report providing data on post-grant petitions filed against Orange Book and biologic patents released by the PTAB, and it covers AIA petitions filed between September 16,