35 U.S.C. § 312 | Petitions

(a)

Requirements of Petition .—

A petition filed under section 311 may be considered only if—

(1)

the petition is accompanied by payment of the fee established by the Director under section 311;

(2)

the petition identifies all real parties in interest;

(3)

the petition identifies, in writing and with particularity, each claim challenged, the grounds on which the challenge to each claim is based, and the evidence that supports the grounds for the challenge to each claim, including—

(A)

copies of patents and printed publications that the petitioner relies upon in support of the petition; and

(B)

affidavits or declarations of supporting evidence and opinions, if the petitioner relies on expert opinions;

(4)

the petition provides such other information as the Director may require by regulation; and

(5)

the petitioner provides copies of any of the documents required under paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) to the patent owner or, if applicable, the designated representative of the patent owner.

(b)

Public Availability .—

As soon as practicable after the receipt of a petition under section 311, the Director shall make the petition available to the public.

Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4604(a)]Nov. 29, 1999113 Stat. 1536 Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title IIINov. 2, 2002116 Stat. 1900–1902 Pub. L. 112–29, § 6(a)Sept. 16, 2011125 Stat. 300 (Added , , , 1501A–568; amended , §§ 13105(a), 13202(a)(2), (c)(1), , ; , (c)(3)(A)(i), , , 305.)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Pub. L. 112–29, § 6(a)2011—, amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to determination of issue by Director.

Pub. L. 112–29, § 6(c)(3)(A)(i)(I)Subsec. (a). , substituted “the information presented in the request shows that there is a reasonable likelihood that the requester would prevail with respect to at least 1 of the claims challenged in the request,” for “a substantial new question of patentability affecting any claim of the patent concerned is raised by the request,” and “A showing that there is a reasonable likelihood that the requester would prevail with respect to at least 1 of the claims challenged in the request” for “The existence of a substantial new question of patentability”.

Pub. L. 112–29, § 6(c)(3)(A)(i)(II)Subsec. (c). , substituted “the showing required by subsection (a) has not been made,” for “no substantial new question of patentability has been raised,”.

Pub. L. 107–273, § 13202(c)(1)Pub. L. 106–1132002—, made technical correction to directory language of , which enacted this section.

Pub. L. 107–273, § 13202(a)(2)(A)Subsec. (a). , struck out second sentence which read as follows: “On the Director’s initiative, and at any time, the Director may determine whether a substantial new question of patentability is raised by patents and publications.”

Pub. L. 107–273, § 13105(a), inserted at end “The existence of a substantial new question of patentability is not precluded by the fact that a patent or printed publication was previously cited by or to the Office or considered by the Office.”

Pub. L. 107–273, § 13202(a)(2)(B)Subsec. (b). , struck out “, if any” after “third-party requester”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2011 Amendment

section 6(a) of Pub. L. 112–29Sept. 16, 2011section 6(c)(2) of Pub. L. 112–29 section 311 of this titleAmendment by effective upon the expiration of the 1-year period beginning on , and applicable to any patent issued before, on, or after that effective date, with provisions for graduated implementation, see , set out as a note under .

Pub. L. 112–29, § 6(c)(3)(B)Sept. 16, 2011125 Stat. 305

“(B)

Application .—

section 313 of this titleThe amendments made by this paragraph [amending this section and ]—

“(i)

Sept. 16, 2011 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act []; and

“(ii)

section 311 of this title shall apply to requests for inter partes reexamination that are filed on or after such date of enactment, but before the effective date set forth in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection [set out as a note under ].

“(C)

Continued applicability of prior provisions .—

section 313 of this title section 319 of this titleThe provisions of chapter 31 of title 35, United States Code, as amended by this paragraph [amending this section and ], shall continue to apply to requests for inter partes reexamination that are filed before the effective date set forth in paragraph (2)(A) as if subsection (a) [enacting and amending this section and sections 312 to 318 of this title] had not been enacted.”

, (C), , , provided that:

Effective Date of 2002 Amendment

section 13105(a) of Pub. L. 107–273Nov. 2, 2002section 13105(b) of Pub. L. 107–273 section 303 of this titleAmendment by applicable with respect to any determination of the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office that is made on or after , see , set out as a note under .

Effective Date

Nov. 29, 1999Pub. L. 106–113 section 41 of this titleSection effective , and applicable to any patent issuing from an original application filed in the United States on or after that date, see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4608(a)] of , set out as an Effective Date of 1999 Amendment note under .