Zombie Patents [Communications and the Law]

A new procedure for contesting the validity of patents was instituted under the American Invents Act (AIA) of 2011. In the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board can conduct a proceeding for the review on the validity of a patent instituted by a party other than the patent owner. The proceeding is called an inter partes review proceeding. [1] While it may be considered a review, nevertheless it is a trial before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and is litigation focused on the patent validity issues.