USPTO Post Patent Grant Practice
Print this pageThe Post Patent Grant Practice focuses on post patent issuance proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
In general, these proceedings enable a third party to challenge the validity of a patent claim, such as with the re-examinations and post grant review proceedings.
These proceedings also enable a patent owner/applicant to correct certain errors in a patent, such as with the reissue, ex parte re-examination, supplemental examination, certificate of correction, and derivation proceeding.
The newly enacted America Invents Act (AIA), which President Obama signed on September 16, 2011, expanded the number and types of post patent issuance proceedings, and ended patent interference due to AIA’s new First Inventor to File system.
Under the old regime, available post patent issuance proceedings included:
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The post patent proceedings newly introduced by the AIA became available as of September 16, 2012 (one year from enactment of the AIA). Currently, the available post patent issuance proceedings include:
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