USPTO updates guidance on Patent Trial and Appeal Board discretionary denials
By Melissa Ritti ( March 25, 2025, 16:15 GMT | Insight) -- Just under one month after rescinding a former director’s memorandum on an interim procedure for discretionary denials by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the US Patent and Trademark Office has filled the void with a five-factored updated guidance. Notably, the USPTO’s new memorandum does not foreclose the possibility of parties securing Director Review or rehearing of prior institution decisions even if the deadline to do so has passed. Such action will be limited to "extraordinary circumstances," however, the office said.The US Patent and Trademark Office yesterday offered the members of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board five factors to consider when discretionarily denying post-grant review or inter partes review of issued patents already the subject of district court litigation or investigation by the US International Trade Commission....
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