On June 27, 2014, the U.S. Patent Office (PTO) published a "Request for Comments on Trial Proceedings Under the America Invents Act Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board," seeking comments about the new administrative trial proceedings at the PTO that went into effect on September 16, 2012 as part of the America Invents Act (AIA). The administrative trial proceedings are conducted according to final rules and a trial practice guide that were issued in August and September 2012. During the rulemaking phase, the PTO held roundtable discussions in various cities across the United States and committed to revisiting the rules and trial practice guide in the future.

Now that the PTAB trials have been underway for nearly two years, the PTO is interested in collecting public comments in response to specific issues that were frequently raised during roundtables held in April and May 2014 in eight cities. The specific issues are separated into categories and presented in question format in the Federal Register publication. Written comments must be received on or before September 16, 2014 and should be sent via email to TrialsRFC2014@uspto.gov.

Source: "Request for Comments on Trial Proceedings Under the America Invents Act Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board" available at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-06-27/pdf/2014-15171.pdf

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