Amendments to the Rules of Practice for Trials Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Commerce United States Patent and Trademark Office 37 CFR Part 42 [Docket No. PT0-P-2015-0053] RIN 0651-AD01 AGENCY: Patent Trial and Appeal Board, United States Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of Commerce. ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: This proposed rule would amend the existing consolidated set of rules relating to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) trial practice for inter partes review (“IPR”), post-grant review (“PGR”), the transitional program for covered business method patents (“CBM”), and derivation proceedings that implemented provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”) providing for trials before the Office. DATES: Comment date: The Office solicits comments from the public on this proposed rulemaking. Written comments must be received on or before October 19, 2015 to ensure consideration. Roadshow Dates: The Office, in concert with the American Intellectual Property Association (“AIPLA”), will have a Road Show Series in August 2015 where the proposed rules will be discussed. This AIPLA/USPTO Road Show Series, entitled “Enhancing Patent Quality and Conducting AIA Trials,” will be held on August 24, 2015 in Santa Clara, California, August 26, 2015 in Dallas, Texas, and August 28, 2015 in Alexandria, Virginia. ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent by electronic mail message over the Internet addressed to: trialrules2015@uspto.gov…