Post-Grant Reviews at the Patent Office: How They Could Be Used to Challenge Biotech and Pharma Patents

Gaby L. Longsworth Ph.D. and Rebecca Hammond Ph.D. recently authored an article in Bloomberg Law’s Pharmaceutical Law & Industry Report, where they examine how post-grant review proceedings may be used to challenge the validity of biotech and pharma patents. To date, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has yet to institute a post-grant review proceeding, but an uptick in filings is expected as more patents become eligible.

In their examination of these untapped patent proceedings, Dr. Longsworth and Dr. Hammond compare post-grant reviews to the more popular inter partes review and European Opposition proceedings. They also examine future contexts in which post-grant review may be used as a forum to challenge biotech and pharma patents, including speeding up concurrent patent litigation and forcing the narrowing of the claims of a newly issued patent.

The article emphasizes that post-grant review proceedings offer a number of features that make it an attractive option to challenge patents. Advantages include short trial duration, broad classes of validity challenges, the ability to settle and/or force claim amendments.

To read the article, download the attached PDF.