Patent Office Updates Rules Governing Agency Validity Trials

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has updated its rules for adversarial patent validity challenges.

Under the revised rules, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board must institute an inter partes review on all or none of a challenged patent’s claims presented in a petition for a validity challenge. The rules were filed Tuesday for publication in Wednesday’s Federal Register.

The regulatory changes also cancel a presumption favoring a patent challenger related to testimonial evidence, and update briefing requirements to confirm with standard practices.

The updates mark the patent office’s latest changes to PTAB proceedings under the leadership of Director ...