The three judge panels at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) are something that we've never seen before in this country. The feeling that our clients are getting a fair and careful read from this really experienced panel of judges gives people a comfort with trusting their cases to the board.
For the first time, the United States has a set of judges who are doing nothing but patent work. When you marry together that kind of patent office experience and that kind of broad-ranging private practice patent litigation experience and create a three judge panel, it's a quantum shift in the level of understanding in critical judgment that is applied to any defense or argument.
At Ropes & Gray, our attorneys take a careful, customized and strategic approach with each client. We talk about what their case is about, what is special and different about the case, especially if it is going to catch the eye of PTAB judges. It's powerful to ask your client: what's wrong with the other guys patent and what's wrong with their case. It's really not possible to succeed in these proceedings unless you are prepared on every possible issue. Our firm has a built-in understanding for the depth to which a client could be taken at any moment during these proceedings.
Originally published April 2014
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