Inter Partes Review to be more favorable to biotech

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) finalized a rule requiring higher standards for invalidating patents through inter partes review (IPR) petitions, a victory for biopharma companies and other industries that depend on strong patent rights. The new rule will go into effect in November.

Melissa Brand, associate counsel and director for IP policy at BIO, told BioCentury, "This is definitely good news for advocates of stronger patent rights and for the patent system as a whole, as it will provide more predictability for all stakeholders."...