Don't Assume That Your U.S. Patent Is Valid

My blog post yesterday reported on the high invalidity patent rates of several developed countries. And last Friday, Judge Raymond T. Chen of the Federal Circuit, the appellate court charged with reviewing appeals of patent cases, raised a warning that patent owners should be cautious in assuming that their patent grant has merit.

Judge Chen told the annual meeting in D.C. of the American Intellectual Property Law Association on October 24th that the large grant of invalidity petitions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board should produce a chill in many patent owners. Stated Judge Chen,

It is quite a commentary it seems to me that in a short period of time, the patent board has found it likely that at least some claims in almost 1,000 patents are unpatentable,

Those grants are of course non-final decisions, but the decision to grant the petition is not simply a small hurdle. It is a significant event that should get the attention of any patent owner.