42.100    Procedure; pendency.

  • (a) An inter partes review is a trial subject to the procedures set forth in subpart A of this part.
  • (b) A claim in an unexpired patent that will not expire before a final written decision is issued shall be given its broadest reasonable construction in light of the specification of the patent in which it appears. A party may request a district court-type claim construction approach to be applied if a party certifies that the involved patent will expire within 18 months from the entry of the Notice of Filing Date Accorded to Petition. The request, accompanied by a party’s certification, must be made in the form of a motion under § 42.20, within 30 days from the filing of the petition.
  • (c) An inter partes review proceeding shall be administered such that pendency before the Board after institution is normally no more than one year. The time can be extended by up to six months for good cause by the Chief Administrative Patent Judge, or adjusted by the Board in the case of joinder.
[Added, 77 FR 48680, Aug. 14, 2012, effective Sept. 16, 2012; para. (b) revised, 81 FR 18750, Apr. 1, 2016, effective May 2, 2016]