Source: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?amp;mc=true&amp;node=sg37.1.42.a.sg0&amp;rgn=div7
Timestamp: 2020-07-05 19:49:00
Document Index: 283484898

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 42', '§42', 'art 42', 'art 1', '§1', 'art 41', 'art 42', '§42', '§42', '§42', 'arts 1', '§42', '§1', '§42', '§42', '§42', '§3', '§42', '§11', '§11', '§42', '§42', '§42', '§42', '§42']

Title 37 → Chapter I → Part 42 → Subpart A → Subject Group
§42.1 Policy.
(a) Scope. Part 42 governs proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Sections 1.4, 1.7, 1.14, 1.16, 1.22, 1.23, 1.25, 1.26, 1.32, 1.34, and 1.36 of this chapter also apply to proceedings before the Board, as do other sections of part 1 of this chapter that are incorporated by reference into this part.
(b) Construction. This part shall be construed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive resolution of every proceeding.
(c) Decorum. Every party must act with courtesy and decorum in all proceedings before the Board, including in interactions with other parties.
(d) Evidentiary standard. The default evidentiary standard is a preponderance of the evidence.
Affidavit means affidavit or declaration under §1.68 of this chapter. A transcript of an ex parte deposition or a declaration under 28 U.S.C. 1746 may be used as an affidavit.
Board means the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Board means a panel of the Board, or a member or employee acting with the authority of the Board, including:
(1) For petition decisions and interlocutory decisions, a Board member or employee acting with the authority of the Board.
(2) For final written decisions under 35 U.S.C. 135(d), 318(a), and 328(a), a panel of the Board.
Confidential information means trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information.
Final means final for the purpose of judicial review to the extent available. A decision is final only if it disposes of all necessary issues with regard to the party seeking judicial review, and does not indicate that further action is required.
Hearing means consideration of the trial.
Involved means an application, patent, or claim that is the subject of the proceeding.
Judgment means a final written decision by the Board, or a termination of a proceeding.
Motion means a request for relief other than by petition.
Panel means at least three members of the Board.
Party means at least the petitioner and the patent owner and, in a derivation proceeding, any applicant or assignee of the involved application.
Petition is a request that a trial be instituted.
Petitioner means the party filing a petition requesting that a trial be instituted.
Preliminary Proceeding begins with the filing of a petition for instituting a trial and ends with a written decision as to whether a trial will be instituted.
Proceeding means a trial or preliminary proceeding.
Rehearing means reconsideration.
Trial means a contested case instituted by the Board based upon a petition. A trial begins with a written decision notifying the petitioner and patent owner of the institution of the trial. The term trial specifically includes a derivation proceeding under 35 U.S.C. 135; an inter partes review under Chapter 31 of title 35, United States Code; a post-grant review under Chapter 32 of title 35, United States Code; and a transitional business-method review under section 18 of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. Patent interferences are administered under part 41 and not under part 42 of this title, and therefore are not trials.
§42.3 Jurisdiction.
§42.4 Notice of trial.
(a) Institution of trial. The Board institutes the trial on behalf of the Director.
(b) Notice of a trial will be sent to every party to the proceeding. The entry of the notice institutes the trial.
(c) The Board may authorize additional modes of notice, including:
(2) Publishing the notice in the Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office or the Federal Register.
§42.5 Conduct of the proceeding.
(b) The Board may waive or suspend a requirement of parts 1, 41, and 42 and may place conditions on the waiver or suspension.
(c) Times. (1) Setting times. The Board may set times by order. Times set by rule are default and may be modified by order. Any modification of times will take any applicable statutory pendency goal into account.
(2) Extension of time. A request for an extension of time must be supported by a showing of good cause.
(3) Late action. A late action will be excused on a showing of good cause or upon a Board decision that consideration on the merits would be in the interests of justice.
(d) Ex parte communications. Communication regarding a specific proceeding with a Board member defined in 35 U.S.C. 6(a) is not permitted unless both parties have an opportunity to be involved in the communication.
§42.6 Filing of documents, including exhibits; service.
(a) General format requirements. (1) Page size must be 81⁄2 inch × 11 inch except in the case of exhibits that require a larger size in order to preserve details of the original.
(2) In documents, including affidavits, created for the proceeding:
(i) Markings must be in black or must otherwise provide an equivalent dark, high-contrast image;
(ii) 14-point, Times New Roman proportional font, with normal spacing, must be used;
(iii) Double spacing must be used except in claim charts, headings, tables of contents, tables of authorities, indices, signature blocks, and certificates of service. Block quotations may be 1.5 spaced, but must be indented from both the left and the right margins; and
(iv) Margins must be at least 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) on all sides.
(3) Incorporation by reference; combined documents. Arguments must not be incorporated by reference from one document into another document. Combined motions, oppositions, replies, or other combined documents are not permitted.
(4) Signature; identification. Documents must be signed in accordance with §§1.33 and 11.18(a) of this title, and should be identified by the trial number (where known).
(b) Modes of filing. (1) Electronic filing. Unless otherwise authorized, submissions are to be made to the Board electronically via the Internet according to the parameters established by the Board and published on the Web site of the Office.
(2)(i) Filing by means other than electronic filing. A document filed by means other than electronic filing must:
(A) Be accompanied by a motion requesting acceptance of the submission; and
(B) Identify a date of transmission where a party seeks a filing date other than the date of receipt at the Board.
(ii) Mailed correspondence shall be sent to: Mail Stop PATENT BOARD, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, United States Patent and Trademark Office, PO Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450.
(c) Exhibits. Each exhibit must be filed with the first document in which it is cited except as the Board may otherwise order.
(d) Previously filed paper. A document already in the record of the proceeding must not be filed again, not even as an exhibit or an appendix, without express Board authorization.
(e) Service. (1) Electronic or other mode. Service may be made electronically upon agreement of the parties. Otherwise, service may be by Priority Mail Express® or by means at least as fast and reliable as Priority Mail Express®.
(2) Simultaneous with filing. Each document filed with the Board, if not previously served, must be served simultaneously on each opposing party.
(3) Counsel of record. If a party is represented by counsel of record in the proceeding, service must be on counsel.
(4) Certificate of service. (i) Each document, other than an exhibit, must include a certificate of service at the end of that document. Any exhibit filed with the document may be included in the certification for the document.
(ii) For an exhibit filed separately, a transmittal letter incorporating the certificate of service must be filed. If more than one exhibit is filed at one time, a single letter should be used for all of the exhibits filed together. The letter must state the name and exhibit number for every exhibit filed with the letter.
(iii) The certificate of service must state:
(A) The date and manner of service; and
(B) The name and address of every person served.
[77 FR 48669, Aug. 14, 2012, as amended at 79 FR 63043, Oct. 22, 2014; 80 FR 28565, May 19, 2015]
§42.7 Management of the record.
(a) The Board may expunge any paper directed to a proceeding or filed while an application or patent is under the jurisdiction of the Board that is not authorized under this part or in a Board order or that is filed contrary to a Board order.
(b) The Board may vacate or hold in abeyance any non-Board action directed to a proceeding while an application or patent is under the jurisdiction of the Board unless the action was authorized by the Board.
§42.8 Mandatory notices.
(a) Each notice listed in paragraph (b) of this section must be filed with the Board:
(1) By the petitioner, as part of the petition;
(2) By the patent owner, or applicant in the case of derivation, within 21 days of service of the petition; or
(3) By either party, within 21 days of a change of the information listed in paragraph (b) of this section stated in an earlier paper.
(b) Each of the following notices must be filed:
(1) Real party-in-interest. Identify each real party-in-interest for the party.
(2) Related matters. Identify any other judicial or administrative matter that would affect, or be affected by, a decision in the proceeding.
(3) Lead and back-up counsel. If the party is represented by counsel, then counsel must be identified.
(4) Service information. Identify (if applicable):
(i) An electronic mail address;
(ii) A postal mailing address;
(iii) A hand-delivery address, if different than the postal mailing address;
(iv) A telephone number; and
(v) A facsimile number.
§42.9 Action by patent owner.
(a) Entire interest. An owner of the entire interest in an involved application or patent may act to the exclusion of the inventor (see §3.71 of this title).
(b) Part interest. An owner of a part interest in the subject patent may move to act to the exclusion of an inventor or a co-owner. The motion must show the inability or refusal of an inventor or co-owner to prosecute the proceeding or other cause why it is in the interests of justice to permit the owner of a part interest to act in the trial. In granting the motion, the Board may set conditions on the actions of the parties.
§42.11 Duty of candor; signing papers; representations to the Board; sanctions.
(a) Duty of candor. Parties and individuals involved in the proceeding have a duty of candor and good faith to the Office during the course of a proceeding.
(b) Signature. Every petition, response, written motion, and other paper filed in a proceeding must comply with the signature requirements set forth in §11.18(a) of this chapter. The Board may expunge any unsigned submission unless the omission is promptly corrected after being called to the counsel's or party's attention.
(c) Representations to the Board. By presenting to the Board a petition, response, written motion, or other paper—whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating it—an attorney, registered practitioner, or unrepresented party attests to compliance with the certification requirements under §11.18(b)(2) of this chapter.
(d) Sanctions—(1) In general. If, after notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond, the Board determines that paragraph (c) of this section has been violated, the Board may impose an appropriate sanction on any attorney, registered practitioner, or party that violated the rule or is responsible for the violation.
(2) Motion for sanctions. A motion for sanctions must be made separately from any other motion and must describe the specific conduct that allegedly violates paragraph (c) of this section. The motion must be authorized by the Board under §42.20 prior to filing the motion. At least 21 days prior to seeking authorization to file a motion for sanctions, the moving party must serve the other party with the proposed motion. A motion for sanctions must not be filed or be presented to the Board if the challenged paper, claim, defense, contention, or denial is withdrawn or appropriately corrected within 21 days after service of such motion or within another time the Board sets. If warranted, the Board may award to the prevailing party the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, incurred for the motion.
(3) On the Board's initiative. On its own, the Board may order an attorney, registered practitioner, or party to show cause why conduct specifically described in the order has not violated paragraph (c) of this section and why a specific sanction authorized by the Board should not be imposed.
(4) Nature of a sanction. A sanction imposed under this rule must be limited to what suffices to deter repetition of the conduct or comparable conduct by others similarly situated and should be consistent with §42.12.
[81 FR 18765, Apr. 1, 2016]
§42.12 Sanctions.
(2) Advancing a misleading or frivolous argument or request for relief;
(3) Misrepresentation of a fact;
(4) Engaging in dilatory tactics;
(5) Abuse of discovery;
(6) Abuse of process; or
(1) An order holding facts to have been established in the proceeding;
(2) An order expunging or precluding a party from filing a paper;
§42.13 Citation of authority.
§42.14 Public availability.
The record of a proceeding, including documents and things, shall be made available to the public, except as otherwise ordered. A party intending a document or thing to be sealed shall file a motion to seal concurrent with the filing of the document or thing to be sealed. The document or thing shall be provisionally sealed on receipt of the motion and remain so pending the outcome of the decision on the motion.