Patent Office Allows for Anonymous PTAB Precedent Nominations

Practitioners will be able to nominate U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent review decisions for precedential or informative designations anonymously, the agency announced.

The office has introduced a new form for attorneys to use for the purpose, Scott Boalick, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s chief judge, said Thursday.

Precedential decisions provide binding authority on issues arising in PTAB disputes, while informative decisions provide norms and guidance.

Practitioners representing both patent owners and challengers were “a little worried about having their names associated” with a nomination for a precedential decision, Boalick said. Some precedential decisions can be viewed as favoring ...