"On Friday, December 12, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced an update to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Trial Practice Guide implementing a requirement for parties to participate in a pre-hearing conference 15 days prior to America Invents Act (AIA) oral hearings in cases instituted by the USPTO Director. According to a USPTO press release, the purpose of the pre-trial hearing conference"
"will be for the Board to guide the parties as to which issues they should address, as well as to give parties a chance to explain the issues they would like to focus on at the oral hearing. The Board will address issues including claim construction, reason to combine prior art teachings, or objective indicia of nonobviousness, according to examples provided by the press release. Stakeholder feedback will be accepted and a USPTO Hour will be held to explain the new process further."
The USPTO updated the PTAB Trial Practice Guide to require parties to participate in a pre-hearing conference 15 days before AIA oral hearings in cases instituted by the USPTO Director. The pre-trial conference will let the Board guide parties on which issues to address and give parties a chance to explain which issues they want to focus on at the oral hearing. The Board will address claim construction, reasons to combine prior art, and objective indicia of nonobviousness. Stakeholder feedback will be accepted and a USPTO Hour will explain the new process. The USPTO also announced Montana as the site of a new community engagement office replacing the Rocky Mountain Regional Office.
Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law
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