2023年7月24日
自 2023 年 7 月 24 日起,美国专利商标局 (USPTO) 更新了专利审判和上诉委员会 (PTAB) 决定的临时局长审查 (DR) 程序。临时局长审查流程的更新包括:
·扩大流程,允许当事人请求PTAB就AIA程序中的机构决定进行DR;
·提供有关局长在DR中考虑哪些类型问题的最新指南,以及有关各种主题的附加指南,例如局长自行决定启动DR (sua sponte DR)、发回PTAB进行进一步程序,以及局长的制裁权;
·为局长提供将审查委托给一个新的独立小组(称为委托复审小组 (DRP))的选项;和
·创建一个新的上诉审查小组 (ARP),可由局长自发召集,以单方面审查PTAB、重新审查或重新发布上诉决定。
鉴于这些修订,PTAB流程已更新,以反映判例意见小组(POP)流程的退出。
“通过这些变化,我们正在加强和简化局长审查及相关流程,从而使我们的程序对美国的创新者来说更加高效和有效,”商务部负责知识产权的副部长兼美国专利商标局局长凯西·维达尔 (Kathi Vidal) 说。“局长审查一直是各方要求重新审查他们可能不同意的某些 PTAB决定的重要方式,我很高兴能够根据利益相关者的反馈来扩展和完善该流程。”
美国专利商标局将在不久的将来对这些临时更新进行公告和评论规则制定流程,以便利益相关者能够对这些变化进行权衡。
此外,对于申请人对其专利申请被驳回提出上诉的请求(也称为单方面上诉),PTAB领导层已发布一份备忘录和一份内部操作程序(IOP),其中巩固和描述了与意见撰写和其他内部程序相关的当前做法。
https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/uspto-extends-director-review-dr-option-institution-decisions-retires
USPTO extends Director Review (DR) option to institution decisions, retires the Precedential Opinion Panel (POP), and updates interim DR procedures
July 24, 2023
Beginning July 24, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has updated our procedures for the interim Director Review (DR) of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decisions. Updates to the interim DR process include:
·Expanding the process to permit parties to request DR of PTAB decisions on institution in AIA proceedings;
·Providing updated guidance as to what types of issues the Director will consider in DR, as well as additional guidance on various topics, such as the initiation of DR at the sole discretion of the Director (sua sponte DR), remands to PTAB for further proceedings, and sanction authority of the Director;
·Providing the Director the option to delegate review to a new independent panel called the Delegated Rehearing Panel (DRP); and
·Creating a new Appeals Review Panel (ARP), which may be convened by the Director sua sponte, to review PTAB ex parte, reexamination, or reissue appeal decisions.
In light of these revisions, PTAB processes have been updated to reflect