Inter Partes Review (IPR)
IPR became available on September 16, 2012, as a procedure to challenge the validity of patent claims based on patents and printed publications. IPR can be initiated immediately following issuance (or re-issuance) of patents examined under the first to invent rules (i.e., patents filed prior to March 16, 2013). For patents examined under the AIA first to file rules (i.e., patents filed on or after March 16, 2013), IPR can be initiated after the nine-month window of eligibility for post-grant review. In other words, for patents that were filed on or after March 16, 2013, PGR is the mechanism for challenging the validity during the nine-month window immediately following patent issuance while IPR is the mechanism for challenging the validity after the nine-month window.
Covered Business Method (CBM) review
CBM Review applies to patents that claimed a method, apparatus, or operation used in the practice, administration, or management of a financial product or service. CBM patents did not include patents for “technological inventions,” which were those patents that claimed a novel and unobvious technological feature that solved a technical problem using a technical solution.
Post-Grant Review (PGR)
PGR was introduced by the America Invents Act (AIA) as a counterpart to IPR. Together, they collectively replace inter partes reexamination, with post-grant review being available immediately after patent issuance, and inter partes review becoming available only after the period for post-grant review has passed.
Ex Parte Re-examination (EPRx)
EPRx has been available since 1981 and remains available under the AIA. Through ex parte reexamination, the patent owner or a third party may lodge a request for USPTO examination of an already-granted patent based on patents and printed publications that they bring to the USPTO’s attention. Such a request can be filed at any time during the enforceability of a patent, and the requester must establish that the submitted prior art establishes a substantial and new question of patentability, at which point the USPTO will grant the reexamination request and order examination (i.e., reexamination) of the patent in question.