PTAB FACTS: AN UGLY PICTURE OF A TRIBUNAL RUN AMOK
By Gene Quinn, Steve Brachmann, Josh Malone, & Paul Morinville
Published by IPWatchdog
It has come to our attention that supporters of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) are claiming that the facts and figures presented in various IPWatchdog.com articles are erroneous. That is not the case. In fact, the criticism of some borders on outright misrepresentation.
As the facts laid out in this article will show, the PTAB is substantially more likely to find patents to be defective than a Federal District Court, and in fact have found numerous patents to be defective even after patentability has been confirmed in federal courts. This reality presents a significant problem for patent owners, and should be a serious concern for anyone at all concerned with separation of powers.
Let’s begin with a summary of key statistics and major points:
- 69% of cases reaching a final written decision by the PTAB have all claims invalidated.
- 168 out of 220 patents found valid in Federal Court (76.5%) were found defective by PTAB.
- 58 patents found valid in Federal Court were found defective by PTAB despite PTAB considering the same grounds of invalidity as the Federal Court.
- 82.5% of patents reviewed by PTAB in a final written decision are found defective.
- A settlement is erroneously characterized as a win for the patent owner.
- While claims don’t change if patent owner disclaims, they are unenforceable, which occurs in 5% of all petitions.
