Since the America Invents Act took effect, the Inter Partes Review process at the USPTO has led to the overwhelming majority of challenged patents being invalidated by the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Less than 20% of instituted claims survive a trial.
Various inventors’ groups and independent inventors have joined the chorus of those seeking to persuade the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional the process of invalidating patents via Inter Partes Review procedures at an administrative agency, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, rather than in a court under Article III of the Constitution. Two amicus curiae briefs may be downloaded here. U.S. Supreme Court Case: Oil States Energy Services, LLC. v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, Dkt. 16-712. Click here for the summary of this case on ScotusBlog.
*Analysis from the USPTO statistics from March 31, 2016, at www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2016-3-31%20PTAB.pdf ('IPR Petitions Terminated to Date' chart on page 13).