What Is the Patent Trial and Appeal Board?

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) is a tribunal within U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The PTAB oversees trial proceedings, namely: inter partes review (IPR), post-grant review (PGR), covered business method (CBM) review, and derivation proceedings. The Board also hears appeals from adverse patentability decisions by patent examiners in original applications, reissues, and reexaminations. And, while phasing out since the passage of the America Invents Act (AIA) in 2011, the PTAB is also responsible for deciding interferences. The PTAB was previously referred to as the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences and was renamed by the AIA.

The PTAB is often the chosen legal avenue for the resolution of patent validity challenges and is thus is instrumental in many patent disputes. The parties to these proceedings are generally hired to represent patent holders and petitioners in front of the Board. Adverse PTAB decisions may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Learn more about Winston & Strawn’s Patent Trial & Appeal Board Proceedings Practice.