The most terrifying thing that can happen to a patent owner is receiving an inter partes review (IPR) petition. This is a tool that accused infringers can use to invalidate patents. And they have … to alarming effect. As we’ve discussed, the kill rate at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) is staggering. The PTAB – or, as regular listeners of this audience more commonly know it, the "Patent Death Squad" – has racked up a claim execution rate north of 84% and the death of thousands of valid patents at the hands of infringers looking to profit from innovations they didn’t invest in to create. This is an institution that is clearly out of balance and screaming for reform.
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