Dissenting opinions are rare at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), but former judges explain that it's not because the Board feels discouraged by officials to offer dissenting opinions, but it's because the Board strives to reach a consensus. Law360 interviewed Finnegan partner Trenton Ward--a PTAB judge from 2012-2017--to discuss dissenting opinions at the PTAB.
Trenton said, "In my mind, there is not discouragement from management of individuals writing dissents and concurrences. I'm not aware of situations where judges did not receive credit for writing a concurrence or a dissent." He went on to say, "The goal of the judges is to reach a consensus with respect to the outcome. Often there are multiple avenues to reach an outcome, and to the extent the panel can choose one that all members agree on, that's often the path that's chosen." He also noted that while the PTAB's decisions are often unanimous and written by one judge, all members of the panel are involved in the decision-making process, which he found to be extremely beneficial.