Docket Alarm is proud to announce the release of its search engine for the Patent Trial Appeal Board. It is currently the only search engine dedicated solely to PTAB decisions, providing instant access to every docket and document produced by the PTAB, including every decision, petition, motion and most exhibits. The PTAB search engine allows you to search dockets, documents or both dockets and documents simultaneously.
The PTAB Improves on Federal District Court Shortcomings
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board was created in response to the America Invents Act (AIA) and opened for business on September 16, 2012. The court is now the newest venue to challenge patent validity.
One advantage to challenging a patent in the PTAB over Federal District Courts is that the patent is not presumed to be valid as it is in District Court litigation, which can be incredibly difficult for challengers to overcome. Another distinguishing factor is that the PTAB uses a “preponderance of the evidence” standard for demonstrating patent invalidity, instead of the Federal District Court’s stricter evidentiary standard of “clear and convincing evidence” of patent invalidity. See 35 U.S.C. § 316(e); 37 C.F.R. § 42.1(d). Further, PTAB judges are well versed in the subject matter at hand, having technical backgrounds and experience, unlike most Federal District Court judges and juries. In short, the rules set out above that encourage the just, speedy, and inexpensive resolution of every proceeding. See 37 C.F.R. § 42.1(b).
The above-listed distinctions also have the effect of improving patent quality. By eliminating the presumption of validity, bad patents are more easily invalidated. Moreover, because litigation in the Federal District Court is focused on infringement, and not on patent validity, patent claims are currently drafted to be as broad as possible in order to deter infringers. The PTAB, in contrast, gives patent claims their “broadest reasonable construction,” see 37 C.F.R. § 42.200, making the patent easier to invalidate, which in turn may deter patent holders from asserting such broad claims.
Docket Alarm’s PTAB Search Engine is currently the only dedicated search tool of its kind, allowing you to take full advantage of the new precedent coming out of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
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Docket Alarm is an advanced search and litigation tracking service for the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB), the International Trade Commission (ITC), Bankruptcy Courts, and Federal Courts across the United States. Docket Alarm searches and tracks millions of dockets and documents for thousands of users.
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