About PTAB

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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 proceedings called ex parte appeals and decides patentability questions for issued patents raised by third parties in proceedings called AIA trials.

The America Invents Act (AIA) created the PTAB or the Board. It was known previously as the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences or BPAI.

The Board includes statutory members and administrative patent judges. The statutory members of the Board are the USPTO Director, Deputy Director, Commissioner for Patents, and Commissioner for Trademarks.

Administrative patent judges are appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and are legally and technically trained. Judges have extensive patent legal experience prior to their appointment on the Board, for example, in private practice, in government practice (e.g., at the Department of Justice or the International Trade Commission), and as in-house counsel in companies. Many also have served as USPTO examiners or judicial law clerks.

The Board also includes patent attorneys, law clerks, and paralegals along with support staff to administer proceedings and hearings.

Authorities and duties

"There shall be in the Office a Patent Trial and Appeal Board." 35 U.S.C. § 6(a).

35 U.S.C. § 6(a), establishes the Board's membership as the Director, the Deputy Director, the Commissioner for Patents, the Commissioner for Trademarks, and the Administrative Patent Judges.

The Board's duties are:

(1) on written appeal of an applicant, review adverse decisions of examiners upon applications for patents pursuant to section 134(a);

(2) review appeals of reexaminations pursuant to section 134(b);

(3) conduct derivation proceedings pursuant to section 135; and

(4) conduct inter partes reviews and post-grant reviews pursuant to chapters 31 and 32.

35 U.S.C. § 6(b).

The Board also continues to decide patent interferences pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 135 (continuing under residual authority after March 16, 2013). Interferences are provided for by 35 U.S.C. § 135. The rules governing interferences are found at 37 CFR § 41.100-41.208. Chapter 2300 of The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure and the Standing Order (PDF) sets forth additional guidance for interferences.

Ex parte appeals from adverse decisions by patent examiners in applications for patents and in reexamination proceedings are provided for by 35 U.S.C. §§ 134 and 306. The rules governing ex parte appeals are found at 37 CFR §§ 41.30-41.54. Chapter 1200 of The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure sets forth the current procedures for appellants and patent examiners to follow in ex parte appeals. Sections 2273-2279 of The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure sets forth additional procedures for appellants and patent examiners to follow in ex parte appeals in a reexamination proceeding.

Leadership

35 U.S.C. § 6(a), establishes the Board's membership as the Director, the Deputy Director, the Commissioner for Patents, the Commissioner for Trademarks, and the Administrative Patent Judges.

Director

Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

Deputy Director

Derrick Brent, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO

Commissioner for Patents

Vaishali Udupa, Commissioner for Patents

Commissioner for Trademarks

David S. Gooder, Commissioner for Trademarks

Administrative Patent Judges

Scott R. Boalick, Chief Judge for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Organizational chart

Organization of the Board