Patent Owner's Preliminary Response to a Petition for Inter Partes Review

Summary

This practice note discusses requirements and strategic considerations for responding to a petition for Inter Partes Review (IPR). IPR is an adversarial proceeding challenging the validity of a patent before the Patent Trials and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It provides a mechanism under the American Invents Act to challenge the validity of patents at the USPTO, often requiring much less time and cost than pursuing invalidity arguments in district court. The first substantive response by a patent owner to a petition for IPR is the patent owner's preliminary response.