New Patent Appeal Rules Stayed

Another alert from Ury Fischer:  “A controversial set of new rules for appeals before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (“BPAI”) which was supposed to take effect on December 10, 2008 has been indefinitely stayed.  The BPAI decides appeals of decisions made by patent examiners in connection with patent applications filed with the USPTO.   The new rules had been heavily criticized by patent practitioners across the board as they were seen to needlessly increase the expense of filing appeal briefs.  The Federal Register Notice announcing the stay can be found here.  The delay was necessary because a review of the new rules by the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) has not yet been completed.  According to the Notice, ‘the [USPTO] will notify the public when the revised effective and applicability dates are set. In the subsequent notification, the Office will provide at least a 30-day time period before the BPAI final rule 2008 becomes effective.’  Many believe, however, that there is a good chance the new rules will not go into effect under the Obama administration.”