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AIPLA on December 28, 2018, argued in an amicus brief to the Precedential Opinion Panel of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that the circumstances in which the Director may grant a motion for self-joinder should be the exception, not the rule.

The filing was made in response to the Panel’s invitation for amicus briefs on three questions: (1) Under 35 U.S.C. § 315(c) may a petitioner be joined to a proceeding in which it is already a party? (2) Does 35 U.S.C. § 315(c) permit joinder of new issues into an existing proceeding? and (3) Does the existence of a time bar under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b), or any other relevant facts, have any impact on the first two questions? AIPLA commented only on the third question, urging the Panel to exercise caution to avoid incentivizing gamesmanship by either petitioners or patent owners.