Media Coverage
Source: Law360
Media Coverage
09.05.12
Bryan Collins, an intellectual property partner in Pillsbury’s Northern Virginia office, wrote an article on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s newly issued rules for trial proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. According to Collins, in those rules the USPTO has attempted to strike a better balance between disclosure of the information needed to properly prepare for and litigate the proceeding, and the costs of obtaining and exchanging such information.
Overall, Collins noted, the balance struck by the new USPTO trial rule provides an exchange of information that is broader and more robust than under prior post-grant proceedings. However, shifting the burden to the party seeking additional discovery beyond the “mandatory” and “routine” categories, if managed correctly, should serve to limit the scope of discovery to the information genuinely required to properly prepare the case, in turn keeping costs manageable and more predictable.