The USPTO Has Adopted Several PTAB Improvements Discussed on IPWatchdog-But There's Still More to Do

Acting Director Stewart has begun to reclaim her institution authority in the IPR process but needs to take control of the merits portion. Currently, over 60% of PTAB Petitions are denied by the Director, while more than 90% of those referred to the PTAB are found to have sufficient merits. This raises concerns about the dichotomy between the Director’s evaluations and the PTAB’s findings. The article emphasizes that the Director should reclaim full authority over the process to align with statutory intentions.

The Acting Director has discretionarily denied more than 60% of PTAB Petitions and referred about 40% to the PTAB, which found over 90% merit worthy.

Reclaiming institution authority over both discretionary and merits aspects is necessary for the Acting Director to maintain coherence in the IPR process.

Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law