Patent Attacks Unlikely to Drop Despite 56 Percent Fee Hike

On November 14, 2017 the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced upcoming increases its costs for Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) filings. The costs to challenge the validity of an existing patent is expected to increase by 56 percent. Big Law Business contacted Finnegan partner Erika Harmon Arner for her thoughts on the fee increase.  

"Given the high stakes and budgets that parties already face in IPRs, I do not expect the PTAB fee increase to deter filings," Arner said. "I do suspect, though, that petitioners will think a bit more strategically about which claims to challenge in larger patents where maybe only a handful of claims have been asserted."