It is almost three years since president Obama signed the patent reform legislation, the A merica Invents A ct ("AIA"). Hailed as a rare piece of consensus legislation out of C ongress, the A IA made many changes to the patent laws. A mong the most significant changes is the creation of a trial-like procedure at the PTO which allows parties to adjudicate the validity of patent claims. T wo of the proceedings, inter partes review ("IPR") and a transitional procedure for covered business method ("CBM") review, have been available since September 16, 2012. In the almost 20 months the patent community is starting to have a picture of the proceeding at the Patent O ffice. T his article provides a brief review of the proceedings and the results of the proceedings.
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Originally published in Intellectual Property Today (July 2014).
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