Intellectual Property Magazine
PTAB developments during the pandemic
Neal Gerber Eisenberg’s Emer Simic explains that despite Covid-19 and constitutional challenges, the PTAB was a busy forum in 2020
Emer Simic, Neal Gerber Eisenberg
Despite the onslaught of Covid-19 and a transition to fully remote proceedings, the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
garnered significant patent law headlines in 2020. In May, PTAB designated its decision in Fintiv precedential, fuelling intense public debate about a perceived increase in pro-patentee policy making by the US Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO). In October, the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) granted certiorari in a case questioning the constitutionality of the appointment of PTAB judges. And, by year’s end, PTAB clocked a significant
increase in IPR petitions filed over 2019.