PTAB Creates Precedential Opinion Panel (POP)
Written September 28, 2018
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has substantially revised its Standard Operating Procedures (“SOPs”) regarding precedential and informative decisions (SOP2).
Revised SOP2 creates a Precedential Opinion Panel (POP), typically comprising the Director, the Commissioner for Patents, and the Chief Judge of the PTAB. The POP will serve two primary functions: 1) it may be convened to rehear matters in pending trials and appeals, for example on issues of exceptional importance; and 2) it may assist the Director in determining whether a decision previously issued by the PTAB should be designated as precedential or informative.
The USPTO expects that the POP and the procedures described in revised SOP2 will, in most cases, replace the prior practice of expanded paneling under SOP1, with a process that is more transparent and predictable. They also expect that revised SOP2 will result in more decisions being designated as precedential.
Revised SOP2 creates a Precedential Opinion Panel (POP), typically comprising the Director, the Commissioner for Patents, and the Chief Judge of the PTAB. The POP will serve two primary functions: 1) it may be convened to rehear matters in pending trials and appeals, for example on issues of exceptional importance; and 2) it may assist the Director in determining whether a decision previously issued by the PTAB should be designated as precedential or informative.
The USPTO expects that the POP and the procedures described in revised SOP2 will, in most cases, replace the prior practice of expanded paneling under SOP1, with a process that is more transparent and predictable. They also expect that revised SOP2 will result in more decisions being designated as precedential.