Blogs covering AIA Inter Partes Review, Post Grant Review and Covered Business Method Review

My blog covers the A in PTAB – meaning that I discuss cases where the Applicant has appealed an Examiner rejection during prosecution. The T in PTAB stands for Trials, and it looks like these Trials proceedings are big business, because I've found quite a few blogs that cover PTAB activity.

Here's a quick list:

US PTO Litigation Alert
Patents Post Grant
Reexam Link
IPR-PGR
PTAB Trial Blog
IPR Petition Denied
Post Grant AdvocATor

A bit more background for those of you that aren't familiar with PTAB Trials. The jurisdiction of the Board was enlarged significantly by the AIA. The PTAB still handles appeals of Examiner rejections during prosecution  and appeals during ex parte reexamination. But the PTAB now also handles Inter Partes Review, Post Grant Review and Covered Business Method Review.

Inter Partes Review (commonly abbreviated as IPR) is analogous to old inter partes reexamination – though there plenty of differences. Post Grant Review is like Inter Partes Review, but is limited to patents filed under AIA rules and to a 9-month period after issuance. Covered Business Method Review is like Post Grant Review – except that filing date is irrelevant and it is limited to "covered business methods." This link summarizes the differences in chart format.

In the past, I've found a lot to learn from reexamination appeal. Applicants tend to go into more detail in their arguments, as reexamination is an expensive process with higher stakes. This is even more true for IPR and its brethren, so I'll be blogging about IPR, PGR and CBM decisions from time to time, if I see some good stuff.