Precedent-Setting Patent Panel OKs Petition Changes (1)

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office set new precedent in greenlighting parties to join a proceeding in which it’s already a party and challenge a patent’s validity by introducing new issues—though with a catch.

The decision, entered March 13, comes in a Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceeding known as an inter partes review, in which patent validity is considered in light of prior art. It’s the first decision by the board’s Precedential Opinion Panel, which the PTO created in September 2018 to determine which cases set precedent.

The decision is also significant in that the panel explicitly states that ...