The most comprehensive patent reform in over sixty years was brought about by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”), which included a complete restructuring of the post-grant patent proceedings at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”).
Included in these reforms are post-grant trials before Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) intended to provide a faster, more affordable alternative to traditional patent litigation in federal district court. Not only do these procedures have statutory time limits for completion, typically within one year of institution of a proceeding, but they impose significant restrictions on the breadth of discovery available to parties in order to facilitate compliance with the statutory time limits. Given the expedited timelines and significant differences from traditional patent litigation, to take advantage of these processes for challenging patents, practitioners must possess a thorough understanding of the complexity of the AIA as well as how the PTAB, the entity charged with handling these proceedings, is interpreting the Act.
Our patent lawyers’ knowledge of patent prosecution, familiarity with the operations of the USPTO, and our courtroom skills differentiate us from competitors. Baker Botts lawyers have appeared in more than 700 proceedings before the PTAB. According to Lex Machina, Baker Botts was the most active general practice law firm representing petitioners from 2021-2023. (Patent Litigation Report 2024). Our combination of skills and experience makes Baker Botts the natural choice for clients looking for counsel in a PTAB Trial matter.
Baker Botts maintains a team of accomplished and experienced professionals dedicated to understanding all aspects of the PTAB Trials and are constantly monitoring all aspects of the AIA, including the various orders and decisions being issued by the PTAB on a near-daily basis.
In addition, Baker Botts IP lawyers are recognized as skilled practitioners in the field. We were involved in the rulemaking regarding the creation of the PTAB following passage of the AIA, including post-grant review and inter partes reviews, and one of our attorneys testified before the House Judiciary Committee during its hearing on implementation of the AIA.
