Partner Thomas Makin and associates Marion Harris and Joseph Purcell (all New York-Litigation) recently wrote an article published by Law 360, titled “Checks and Balances in the Inter Partes Review Statute.” 

In this article, the authors discuss the administrative procedures that were designed to “provide ‘quick and cost effective alternatives to litigation’” and explore, in particular, the inter partes review (IPR) process. While IPR has been very successful for challenging the validity of patents, not all challenges are successful.  In addition, Congress crafted the law authorizing IPR in such a way as to limit multiple successive challenges by accused infringers, effectively limiting them to a single petition, filed within a limited time of facing infringement allegations. However, the law did not account for industry groups that provide IPR-filing services for its fee-paying members. The article explores the competing arguments as to whether these groups are behaving fairly and, if not, how their behavior could be limited.

View full article, Makin, Harris and Purcell Write Law360 Article on Inter Partes Review Statute