Patent Office Panel Gets Appeals Clout After High Court Ruling

A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office panel is poised to assume a larger role in patent validity challenges after a Supreme Court decision making it the final arbiter of certain agency tribunal decisions.

In April, the high court said in Thryv, Inc. v. Click-To-Call Technologies LP that a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision on whether an accused infringer’s patent challenge was filed on time is not appealable in courts. Challengers have a one-year window from the time they’re served with a complaint for infringement to ask for an inter partes review at the board.

Without other appellate venues, parties ...