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Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This information is provided by McKool Smith for informational purposes only and is not intended, nor should it be construed, as legal advice.

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Challenging Real Party-in-Interest Identifications

An important aspect of inter partes review is how the PTAB identifies real parties-in-interest for each petition. For instance, petitioners that fail to properly identify each real party-in-interest at the time of filing risk their petitions being denied. Read More>>

Claim Amendments

Since inter partes review became available, the PTAB has granted only two motions to amend patent claims—once in Int’l Flavors & Fragrances Inc. v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, May 20, 2014, in which the motion was unopposed by the challenger, and recently in Riverbed Technology Inc. v. Silver Peak Systems Inc., Dec. 30, 2014, where the PTAB allowed four new claims but rejected six others. Read More>>

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Impact of PTAB Decisions on the Federal Circuit

At the end of 2014, over 2000 IPR petitions had been filed, and over 100 decisions had been appealed to the Federal Circuit.  So far, IPR appeals far outnumber the few dozen USPTO appeals the Federal Circuit typically hears each year; the Federal Circuit’s first two decisions have affirmed PTAB holdings. Read More>>