[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 156 (Monday, August 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 39989]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17315]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No.: PTO-P-2018-0050]


Office Patent Trial Practice Guide, August 2018 Update

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``Office'') 
issued an update to the Office Patent Trial Practice Guide (``TPG'') in 
August 2018 to provide updated guidance to the public on standard 
practices before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (``Board'') in the 
post-grant trial procedures implemented following the Leahy-Smith 
America Invents Act (``AIA''). The Office publishes the TPG to provide 
practitioners with guidance on typical procedures and times for taking 
action in AIA trials, as well as to ensure consistency of procedure 
among panels of the Board.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Tierney and William Fink, Vice 
Chief Administrative Patent Judges, by telephone at (571) 272-9797.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office issued an update to the TPG in 
August 2018, to update the guidance set forth in the TPG by 
incorporating the Board's current practices and provide further 
explanation of certain aspects of the Board's practices to the public. 
The TPG is divided into sections, each directed to a particular stage 
of a typical AIA trial proceeding or a specific issue commonly 
encountered during such proceedings. As such, the TPG contains 
informative material and outlines the current procedures that panels of 
the Board typically follow in appropriate cases in the normal course of 
an AIA trial proceeding. In order to expedite these updates and provide 
guidance to the public as quickly as possible, the Office has chosen to 
issue updates to the Practice Guide on a section-by-section, rolling 
basis, rather than a single, omnibus update addressing all aspects of 
the current Practice Guide. The Office anticipates releasing further 
revisions to the remaining sections of the TPG on a periodic basis, to 
take into account feedback received from stakeholders, changes in 
controlling precedent or applicable regulations, or the further 
refinement of the Board's practices over time.
    The August 2018 update revises Sections I.G. (Expert Testimony), 
II.A.3. (Word Count and Page Limits), II.D.2. (Considerations in 
Instituting a Review), II.I. (Reply to Patent Owner Response and Reply 
for a Motion to Amend; Sur-Replies), II.K. (Challenging Admissibility; 
Motions to Exclude; Motions to Strike), II.M. (Oral Hearing), and 
Appendix A (Sample Scheduling Order).
    The August 2018 update of the TPG, containing only the revised 
sections, may be viewed or downloaded free of charge from the USPTO 
website at https://go.usa.gov/xU7GP. The full version of the August 
2012 TPG continues to be available for reference on the USPTO website 
at https://go.usa.gov/xU7GK.

    Dated: August 8, 2018.
Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2018-17315 Filed 8-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P