Patent Board Judges Feel Pressure From Political Heads: GAO (1)

Seventy-five percent of Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges said oversight by politically appointed Patent and Trademark Office directors has affected their independence in decision-making, according to preliminary findings released by the Government Accountability Office.

The majority of the 234 surveyed judges reported that “they experienced pressure to adhere to management comments and to change or modify an aspect of their decision” when dealing with certain patent validity challenges under the America Invents Act, according to the study issued Thursday.

“Some judges we surveyed stated that on at least one occasion within their own cases, a director or PTAB management ...