USPTO Revises Patent Trial and Appeal Board Rules to Allocate Burden of Persuasion in Post-Grant Trial Proceedings

Summary

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has updated its rules of practice for inter partes review, post-grant review, and the transitional program for covered business method patents, shifting the burden of persuasion in motions to amend to the petitioner and patent owner, in an effort to increase predictability and certainty in post-grant trial proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).