The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) is a tribunal within the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that reviews rejections made by examiners in ex parte appeal proceedings and adjudicates patentability disputes regarding issued patent claims challenged by third parties in trial proceedings under the America Invents Act (AIA).
The AIA created the PTAB (also called the Board). The Board was known previously as the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI). In fact, the Board has a long history (under different names) going back to the 1860s.
The Board includes four members designated by statute, along with the administrative patent judges (APJs). The statutory members of the Board are: the USPTO Director, the Deputy Director, the Commissioner for Patents, and the Commissioner for Trademarks.
APJs are appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and are required to have both legal and technical training. APJs have extensive patent legal experience prior to their appointment on the Board, for example, in private practice, in government practice (e.g., at the USPTO, Department of Justice, or the International Trade Commission), and as in-house counsel at companies. Many APJs have also served as judicial law clerks or USPTO patent examiners.
Additionally, the Board includes patent attorneys, paralegals, and support staff who help to administer proceedings and hearings.
Contact and mailing information
Divisions and branches
Below is a list of divisions and branches within the PTAB.
Judge Divisions
Chief Administrative Patent Judge: Scott R. Boalick
Deputy Chief Administrative Patent Judge: Jacqueline W. Bonilla
- Vice Chief Administrative Patent Judge for Operations (Division 1): Michael W. Kim
- Vice Chief Administrative Patent Judge for Operations (Division 2): Kalyan K. Deshpande
- Vice Chief Administrative Patent Judge for Operations (Division 3): Michael P. Tierney
- Vice Chief Administrative Patent Judge for Operations (Division 4): Farheena Rasheed (Acting)
- Vice Chief Administrative Patent Judge for Strategy: Janet Gongola (on detail assignment)
Board Operations Division
- Board Executive: Troy Tyler
- Administrative Officer: Holly Watson
- Chief Clerk of the Board: Erica Swift
- IT Systems & Services Branch Chief: Joy Weber
