AIPLA Comments to United States Patent and Trademark Office on Motion to Amend Practice and Procedures in Trial Proceedings under the America Invents Act before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board

AIPLA appreciates the Office’s efforts to improve AIA trial proceedings, which have become pervasive since their  initial  implementation  in  September  2012.   On  several  prior  occasions,  AIPLA  has expressed  its concerns  with  the  existing  motions  to  amend  practice  and  procedure, and  especially  appreciates  the Office’s attempt to improve this practice and make motions to amend, as contemplated by the statute, a more viable option as part of a trial proceeding. 

While the current proposal provides some challenges to both patent owners and petitioners, especially in terms of timing and expense, AIPLA generally supports the  proposed procedures  for  handling  motions  to  amend.    However,  we address  some  issues  with  the proposal in the comments that follow.