Scott Cummings shares insight with Law360 and Bloomberg Law on new USPTO procedure

Scott Cummings, a partner in BCLP’s Intellectual Property and Technology Disputes practice, recently spoke with Law360 and Bloomberg Law about a new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) procedure allowing patent owners to respond to ex parte reexamination requests. 

In his commentary, Scott said letting patent owners respond before ex parte reexaminations are instituted turns what was once a one-sided process into a two-sided one, giving the office “ammunition” to decide not to institute a proceeding.     

Scott told Bloomberg that it’s unclear how much impact the new procedures will have, but “presumably the desired outcome from the patent owner perspective is to clamp down on the institution, or order, rate.”