USPTO's Arthrex Guidance Offers Window into Agency's Thinking

As a result of feedback received in the wake of the Supreme Court of the United States’ Arthrex decision, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued several updates providing guidance on the review process under the interim director. However, practitioners still have questions that remain unanswered. World Intellectual Property Review interviewed Finnegan partner Kevin Rodkey for his thoughts on the updated guidance.

Kevin believes one of the most significant unanswered questions is how often the director will review decisions and what the results of that review will look like. He said, “The update clarified what I think many speculated, which is that the USPTO will use an advisory committee as part of the process. This resolved some of the implementation questions and how the USPTO is attempting to balance review with the director’s other duties. Providing some criteria that the advisory committee will use when evaluating the review requests also helps parties frame review requests.”

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