A First Look At Inter Partes Review Filings

Since inter partes review proceedings became available on September 16, 2012, thirteen petitions for inter partes review have been filed. Of these, three were filed against patents examined in Group 1600: U.S. Patent 7,790,869, U.S. Patent 7,713,698, and U.S. Patent 6,258,540.

Clerical Deficiency Not Fatal to Filing Date

One petition with clerical deficiencies was deemed "complete" and conditionally granted a filing date, as long as the defects are corrected within 5 business days of the notice. This opportunity to correct clerical errors is consistent with final rule 37 CFR § 42.104, which provides that a Petitioner may file a motion to correct "a clerical or typographical mistake in the petition," and that such a petition, if granted, will "not change the filing date of the petition."