Lessons Learned from the First Year of the PTAB Post-Grant Proceedings: A Three-Part Series

On September 16, 2012, the post-grant proceedings under the AIA went into effect and became a new tool in the patent practitioner’s toolbox. The much anticipated new PTAB proceedings have clearly sparked a renewed interest for out-of-court patent challenges. In this three-part series, we review the past year of many “firsts” related to these new proceedings and recap the strategies that have been employed and the valuable lessons learned. In Part 1, we look at how IPR petitioners have tipped the “reasonable likelihood” standard in their favor. In Part 2, we recap an exciting year of CBM proceedings, including the first ever CBM oral hearing and decision. Finally, Part 3 offers a glimpse of what supplemental examination offers to patentees and how the proceeding has been utilized so far.