Category: Future of PTAB Trial Practice
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Are Patent-Friendly PTAB Decisions On the Rise?
Patent litigation changed with passage of the America Invents Act. Overnight the PTAB became a new venue for challenging patent claims using IPRs, CBMs and PGRs. The initial reaction by the patent bar to the PTAB’s “take charge” approach to instituting review and canceling patent claims was met with approval by businesses under attack by…
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Patent Trends to Watch in 2016
2016 is starting off with a bang! A number of interesting new developments have occurred as we enter into this new year: The Supreme Court will review broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI), courtesy of the petition for cert in Cuozzo The Federal Circuit continues to selectively review and provide guidance on PTAB decisions, such as in Ethicon Endo-Surgery…
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New PTAB Rule Changes Published Yesterday
A small number of rule changes were published yesterday which affect all involved in post-grant trials at the USPTO. The fixes make the rules more specific and make for more uniform proceedings. They are effective May 19, 2015. A copy of the Federal Register notice can be found here.
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Are Your Patent Procurement Guidelines Outdated?
I saw a bumper sticker that said: “Change is inevitable, but growth is optional.” This is true in many facets of life, and it is true for patent practice. The changes of the past few years are numerous and far-reaching. Is your patent portfolio strategy growing with these changes? One Simple Exercise If you are…
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The Settlement Effect of PTAB Proceedings and Recent Patent Office Trial Statistics
December 29, 2014 The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) released statistics for AIA Patent Office trials as of Dec. 18, 2014. Different commentators have recently reported that the institution rate for these proceedings has dropped to about 60-70 percent, depending on how you calculate it. Those familiar with PTAB trial practice (IPR, CBM, PGR and…
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Target Corp. Requests Rehearing of Denied IPRs by Expanded PTAB Panel
October 17, 2014 Last month, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) interpreted the IPR joinder provision, 35 U.S.C. § 315(c), to preclude joinder requests by an existing party to an ongoing proceeding. (Target Corp. v. Destination Maternity Corp., IPR2014-00508 and IPR2014-00509.) In these recent decisions, the Board decided that § 315(c) requires “party joinder” and…
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Lex Machina’s 2013 Patent Litigation Report Shows Disparity Between Litigated Patents and those under PTAB Review
Litigation and post-grant proceedings often go hand-in-hand. A new litigation report published by Lex Machina summarizes patent litigation data for 2013 and prior years. It is an interesting report and very easy to digest. Two findings caught my eye. The first one relates to the overall number of patent litigation cases filed in 2013: Plaintiffs filed 6,092…
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PTAB Provides More Guidance on Discovery
On March 5, 2013, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) provided guidance to the bar concerning routine discovery and additional discovery. (See paper 26 in Garmin v. Cuozzo, IPR2012-00001) This decision set forth five factors which are important in determining what constitutes discovery satisfying the “necessary in the interest of justice” standard under 35…