Patent Review and Derivation Proceedings

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, which was enacted into law on September 16, 2011, provided for many changes to the procedures of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB” or “Board,” formerly the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences) procedures. These changes included the introduction of inter partes review, post-grant review, derivation proceedings, and the transitional program for covered business method patents. Under these administrative trial proceedings, third parties may file a petition with the PTAB challenging the validity of issued patents, with each proceeding having different requirements regarding timing restrictions, grounds for challenging validity, and who may request review. Inter partes review is a trial proceeding conducted at the Board to review the patentability of one or more claims in a patent only on a ground that could be raised under §§ 102 or 103, and only on the basis of prior art consisting of patents or printed publications. Post grant review is a trial proceeding conducted at the Board to review the patentability of one or more claims in a patent on any ground that could be raised under § 282(b)(2) or (3). A derivation proceeding is a trial proceeding conducted at the Board to determine whether (1) an inventor named in an earlier application derived the claimed invention from an inventor named in the petitioner’s application, and (2) the earlier application claiming such invention was filed without authorization. The transitional program for covered business method patents is a trial proceeding conducted at the Board to review the patentability of one or more claims in a covered business method patent. The covered business method program expired on September 16, 2020 and the Board no longer accepts new petitions related to this program, but continues to accept papers in previously-instituted proceedings. This information collection covers information submitted by the public to petition the Board to initiate an inter partes review, post-grant review, derivation proceeding, and the transitional program for covered business method patents, as well as any responses to such petitions, and the filing of any motions, replies, oppositions, and other actions, after a review/proceeding has been instituted.

The latest form for Patent Review and Derivation Proceedings expires 2028-09-30 and can be found here.

Petitions for Inter Partes Review

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