Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI)
The BPAI was very successful in FY 2005. The average pendency for decided patent appeals before the Board has been reduced to less than six months. Similarly, the average pendency for interferences is now less than 12 months. Furthermore, the final decisions in over 80 percent of all interferences were mailed within 24 months. During the course of the year, the BPAI also held its first remote video hearings at the new state-of-the-art electronic hearing room. With respect to e-government, almost all patent appeals at BPAI are now in electronic form. Additionally, based upon the success of the pilot program for processing interferences in electronic form, the Board has started the development of a full-scale electronic filing and information system for interferences. This automation effort will also lay the groundwork for the implementation of the proposed post-grant review proceedings that are currently planned to be conducted in the future at the Board as a part of the 21st Century Strategic Plan.
