PTO leveling IPR playing field

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) wants to level the playing field between patent challenges filed as inter partes review (IPR) petitions and those considered by federal courts. If finalized, the policy would represent a victory for biopharma companies.

The industry has asserted that the PTO unnecessarily eroded patent protections by creating a lower threshold for invalidating patents through IPR than the standard used by federal courts. ...