New rules give more options to patent owners and petitioners in pre-institution phase.

On March 31, 2016, the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued new final rules to govern practice before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The new rules will apply to all future and ongoing AIA trials as of May 2, 2016. Among the many changes, the new rules allow patent owners to submit an expert declaration with the preliminary response and also allow petitioners to seek leave to file a reply to the preliminary response.