For the first time since 2017, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) saw an increase in petitions in 2020, according to Lex Machina’s 2021 Patent Litigation Report. Petitioners filed 1,538 petitions in 2020, compared to 1,322 in 2019. Law360 interviewed Finnegan partner Trenton Ward for his thoughts on the rise in PTAB filings.
Trenton believes that the PTAB’s seamless transition to a remote format helped draw more cases to that venue. He said, “I think [the PTAB] did a great job of keeping cases on track. And since almost every other tribunal was impacted somehow, and many are still not back on schedule, it has probably made the PTAB a more attractive venue.” He believes the increase in filings might be indicative of what’s to come. He said, “I think that what we saw for 2020 is more akin to what we will see going forward in the future — 1,500 to 1,600 will be the relative plateau moving forward.”
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