The America Invents Act (AIA) introduces two new procedures for post-grant review of a patent. After the issue date, there will be a 9-month period during which a PGR (post grant review) is available for anyone to challenge the patentability of any or all of the claims granted by the USPTO on any ground for invalidity. After the nine months have passed, IPR (inter parties review) will be available during the life of the patent, but the basis for challenge is limited. The threshold for these proceedings will be difficult: there is reasonable likelihood the petitioner would prevail.

An intellectual property program for any company should monitor published patent applications and issued patents in its critical technology areas. A patent watch or alert service is an economical and easy way to keep a pulse on your key technology fields. To serve our clients’ needs and meet the needs for the new changes in the patent law, our office will be offering a cloud-based collaborative platform for patent alerts/monitoring that will enable the client to share documents and comments with internal staff, consultants and attorneys in a few clicks.