|
The PTAB has published an update to the AIA Trial Practice Guide (TPG) containing
additional guidance about trial practice before the Board.
The USPTO published the original
TPG in August 2012, concurrent with the promulgation of the AIA Trial
Rules. The TPG was intended to inform the public of
standard practices during AIA trials before the Board and encourage consistency
of procedures among panels of the Board. We are now updating
certain sections of the TPG to provide further guidance to the public,
accounting for almost six years of
experience with the program. This TPG update is not all-encompassing, and there
may be further revisions as we continue to
review AIA trial proceedings.
Among other things, the updated
sections of the TPG include guidance on
-
the use of expert testimony;
- consideration of various non-exclusive
factors in the determination of whether to institute a trial;
- providing for sur-replies to principal
briefs as a matter of right;
- the distinction between motions to
exclude and motions to strike, and the proper use of each;
- procedures for oral hearing before the
Board, including the use of live testimony, sur-rebuttal, and default time
for the hearing; and
- providing for a pre-hearing conference
and potential early resolution of issues.
For more details about the August 2018 update to the TPG, please review
the full text at the Federal Register Reading Room.
|
