PTAB Reform Bill: A 'Reasonable Fine-Tuning'

On June 16, Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator John Cornyn, and Senator Thom Tillis proposed the "PTAB Reform Act 2022," which is intended to prevent gamesmanship and improve fairness at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The bill proposes various reforms to the PTAB with the goals of preventing abuse from multiple petitions from patent owners, restricting the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from considering inaccurate district court litigation timelines, revising the structure of the PTAB appointments, and addressing certainty and fairness at the PTAB.

There have been mixed reactions from industry professionals regarding the bill, but attorneys working PTAB trials have argued the bill provides necessary improvements to PTAB proceedings. Finnegan partner Kevin Rodkey stated that the bill provides "additional clarity" for inter partes review (IPR) and post grant review (PGR) proceedings at the USPTO.

He added that the bill also proposes changes that “appear to try to balance benefits to patent owners and petitioners” and address situations that were not accounted for in the original legislation.

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