Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

The BPAI had a very successful FY 2006. The average pendency for decided patent appeals continued to be less than six months. Similarly, the average pendency for interferences remained below 12 months. Furthermore, the final decisions in over 90 percent of all interferences were mailed within 24 months. During the course of the year, the BPAI was restructured to streamline the internal processing of both patent appeals and interferences. The Board also opened its oral hearings to the public for the first time. Additionally, the Board’s e-government initiatives continued to progress. Patent appeals are now entirely processed electronically. The testing of the fully electronic interference filing and information system is currently underway. This automation effort is laying the groundwork for the implementation of the proposed post-grant review proceedings that are currently planned to be conducted in the future at the BPAI.

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