Privity and real party-in-interest (RPI) issues have become important, sometimes case determinative, for petitioners filing post-grant challenges such as inter partes reviews and covered business method reviews. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued the Patent Trial and Appeal Board Practice Guide which addressed the PTO’s determination of privity and RPI. Based on feedback that the Office received during listening tours in 2014, the PTO published on Aug. 20, 2015, Proposed Amendments to the Rules of Practice for Trials before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. While several comments from the public suggested modifications in the practice of evaluating the RPI and privity determination, the Office declined to change the rules on that point. Instead, the Office referred to the Practice Guide and provided a list of cases which it described as providing helpful guidance.
Originally published in Bloomberg BNA's Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal® - October 16, 2015.
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