BioCentury
ARTICLE | Politics & Policy

PTAB: Orange Book patents survive best among tech IPRs

March 16, 2018 10:40 PM UTC

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board found that more than half of Orange Book-listed patents have survived post-issuance challenges, including inter partes review petitions. PTAB's review showed that patents covering FDA-approved drugs have fared markedly better against PTAB challenges than other technology related patents -- including mechanical, electrical, computer and chemical technologies, as well as biopharma patents covering non-FDA approved products.

Amongst final outcomes for petitions filed between September 2012 and September 2017, PTAB judges have upheld all patent claims for 51% of contested Orange Book patents, while only 17% of patents covering other technologies retained all claims as patentable. However, PTAB's decisions on instituted challenges to Orange Book patents have followed an all-or-none trend, with only 3% of decisions upholding some claims as patentable and 46% ruling no claims patentable. On the other hand, 17% of challenged patents covering other technologies retained some claims as patentable after PTAB review...