Supreme Court Rules PTO Inter Partes Review Process Constitutional, Drawing Tech Cheers

The Supreme Court ruled Patent and Trademark Office inter partes review (IPR) process is constitutional, in Oil States v. Greene's Energy Tuesday, drawing praise from the Computer & Communications Industry Association. The court “confirmed that [PTO] has the power to double-check its own work,” said CCIA President Ed Black: The IPR “process upheld today has made it less expensive for companies to defend themselves from abusive patent litigation and has helped strike down patents that never should have issued in the first place.” Calling IPR "the bedrock of the America Invents Act," Software & Information Industry Association CEO Ken Wasch said the ruling "upheld both the right of Congress to regulate and reform the patent system, and the ability of our members to bring challenges to poor-quality patents so they can continue to innovate without spending millions in unnecessary litigation.”