By Godson Umejiego, Correspondent USA
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Tuesday published a Final Rule related to America Invents Act (AIA) trial proceedings. The Final Rule addresses three aspects of trial proceedings.
First, the Final Rule implements the US Supreme Court’s decision in SAS Institute Inc. v. Iancu, 138 S. Ct. 1348 (2018), providing that, if the Patent Trial and Appeal Board institutes a review, trial will proceed on all challenged claims and on all asserted grounds of unpatentability. Second, the Final Rule revises the rules to conform to the current standard practice of providing for automatic sur-replies. Third, the Final Rule eliminates the presumption that a genuine issue of material fact is viewed in the light most favorable to the petitioner for purposes of deciding whether to institute a review.
The effective date is 30 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register. The Final Rule applies to all inter partes review and post grant review petitions filed on or after the effective date.
