Article

ReExamination Request: To File or Not to File?

Authors

Law360
May 14, 2009
W. Karl Renner and Thomas Rozylowicz

Patent reexaminations, which question the validity of a patent, have become increasingly popular strategic defensive weapons in high stakes patent litigation. Once considered an obscure administrative procedure, reexaminations are now changing the way patent litigation is fought and won.

Deciding whether and when to file a reexamination request can be as important as preparing the filing itself. You can make a good decision by realistically and comprehensively defining the objectives that you seek through reexamination, and then assessing statistics that account for those objectives to understand the potential risks and rewards associated with this specialized tool.