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Patent Trial & Appeal Board Rules Drafted by Major Bar Associations
ABA, AIPLA and IPO Suggest PTAB Model Rules to USPTO
Early last week, the major bar associations submitted comments to the USPTO on the current Group 2 Rule Making effort. As a reminder, Group 2 Rules are a second phase of USPTO rules designed to implement features of the America Invents Act (AIA). The Group 2 Rules include Inter Partes Review (IPR) & Post Grant Review (PGR).
Unlike other organizations that submitted commentary only, the ABA, AIPLA and IPO coordinated their efforts to prepare a set of model rules. Of course, the Office has been working on their own rule sets in parallel. As such, the submitted model rule set (here) is primarily provided to serve as a preliminary gauge of stakeholder expectations.
Some interesting suggestions in the model rules are as follows:
1. Practitioners IPR/PGR: The model rules suggest that lead counsel in any PGR/IPR proceeding must be a registered practitioner. Pro hac vice practice is contemplated, but is suggested to be “rarely granted.” (See proposed rule 41.5)
