42.201    Who may petition for a post-grant review.

A person who is not the owner of a patent may file with the Office a petition to institute a post-grant review of the patent unless:

  • (a) Before the date on which the petition for review is filed, the petitioner or real party-in-interest filed a civil action challenging the validity of a claim of the patent; or
  • (b) The petitioner, the petitioner’s real party-in-interest, or a privy of the petitioner is estopped from challenging the claims on the grounds identified in the petition.
[Applicability Note: Subpart C (Post-Grant Review) generally applies to patents issuing from applications subject to first-inventor-to-file provisions of the AIA. In addition, the Chief Administrative Patent Judge may, in the interests-of-justice, order an interference commenced before September 16, 2012 to be dismissed without prejudice to the filing of a petition for post-grant review. See § 42.200(d) and the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, Public Law 112-29, sec. 6(f)(3)(A).] [Added, 77 FR 48680, Aug. 14, 2012, effective Sept. 16, 2012]