A third party who is not the patent owner, called a petitioner, may challenge the validity of the claims in an issued patent by filing a petition for inter partes review (IPR) or post-grant review (PGR). The petition must comply with various requirements, which are explained in more detail in the Trial Practice Guide, and must set forth the reasons why challenged claims are unpatentable.
After the petitioner files the petition, the patent owner has an opportunity to file a patent owner preliminary response and, if the Board institutes trial, a patent owner response.
In the preliminary response, the patent owner can explain why the Board should not institute trial. If trial is instituted, the patent owner can explain in the response why the Board should not find the challenged claims unpatentable.
To assist parties in preparing these filings, the PTAB has created optional templates for the petition and the patent owner’s response(s), along with guidance documents that explain the templates and an informational glossary of frequently used terms.
Download templates and guidance
| Party | Template (Word format .docx) | Guidance document (PDF) |
|---|---|---|
| Petitioner | A petition template that features the various required sections of a petition for inter partes review (IPR) or post-grant review (PGR). | A petition guidance document that provides general instructions on the information required in the various sections of the petition. |
| Patent Owner | A patent owner response template that features the various recommended sections of a patent owner’s response to a petition for IPR or PGR. | A patent owner response guidance document that provides general instructions on the information required in the various sections of the patent owner’s preliminary response. |
| An informational glossary (PDF) that provides definitions for various terms used in the templates, guides, and other PTAB materials relating to AIA trials. | ||