USPTO Wants Examiners To Consider AIA, Fed. Circ. Rulings

By Jimmy Hoover

Law360, Washington (April 6, 2016, 3:35 PM ET) -- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is trying to arm its examiners with decisions from America Invents Act reviews and appeals from the Federal Circuit so they know how patents weather legal challenges, an agency official said Wednesday, the latest of the USPTO’s recent efforts to enhance patent quality.

If all goes according to plan, USPTO patent examiners will soon be privy to validity rulings from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and other legal decisions in training and during patent prosecutions, according to Valencia Martin-Wallace,...