Gene Quinn, of IPWatchdog and Practice Center Contributor, sent in this article discussing why reexamination should absolutely be considered when there is a strong case of invalidity that is built upon prior patents or publications and what the Patent Office is doing now with respect to reexamination.
Reexamination is a low-cost but seldom used alternative to litigation for determining the patentability of the claims in an issued patent. Despite what I write below, I am a fan of reexamination and I think that the fears associated with the process are largely unfounded. Reexamination could and should be used more often than it is, and if you are a defendant in an ongoing patent infringement litigation and you are not simultaneously involved in bringing a reexamination you need to ask yourself why not!
Yes, the reexamination process is slow. Yes, the reexamination process doesn’t work as well as it could or should. Yes, reexamination it adds extra cost. But the statistics don’t lie. In the right case reexamination is extremely effective. Unfortunately, some patent litigators counsel clients to steer clear of reexamination. This may be good advice, or it might just be because the litigator isn’t familiar with reexamination, or in some cases because you recommend what you know and do. The old saying — if you are a hammer all the world looks like a nail — comes to mind. So despite what follows relating to how Congress could and should make reexamination better, if you are on the wrong side of a patent infringement litigation you really should get some impartial advice about the pros and cons of pursuing a reexamination strategy before writing it off as a bad idea.
Click here to read the full IPWatchdog publication.
Tags: central reexamination unit, cru, ex parte reexamination, inter partes reexamination, Patent Litigation, Patent Office, Patent Reform, Post Grant Review, prior art, Reexamination, USPTO
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