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ARTICLE · 22 NOVEMBER 2023

Trending At The PTAB: Administrative Procedure

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
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Through the Administrative Procedure Act, Congress intended to govern the judicial functions of administrative agencies and standardize judicial review of administrative decisions.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Robert K. High
Robert K. High
Benjamin Saidman
Benjamin Saidman
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Through the Administrative Procedure Act, Congress intended to govern the judicial functions of administrative agencies and standardize judicial review of administrative decisions.

To comply with the APA when carrying out its judicial function, the administrative agency must at least (1) base its decision on arguments that were advanced by a party and to which the opposing party was given a chance to respond; and (2) provide a sufficiently precise explanation of its decision, including any underlying factual findings and related rationales.

These requirements govern the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board's final written decision in inter partes reviews.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently weighed in on the application of the APA in the context of two different IPRs.

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