The patent bar has been anticipating the arrival of post-grant reviews (PGRs) since the America Invents Act's passage in September 2011. Because PGRs are only applicable to patents containing at least one claim with an effective filing date after March 15, 2013, there was a natural delay to their appearance in the post-grant arena. But PGRs are no longer lying in wait—they have now entered the arena in full force. Despite their availability, however, PGR petition filings are extremely low compared to inter partes review petition filings. This difference may be due to the smaller universe of patents that are PGR-eligible compared to those that are IPR-eligible, or it could due to the broader grounds available for PGR challenges and the resulting broader estoppel. In this article, Finnegan attorneys  Thomas L. Irving and  Amanda K. Murphy discuss trends in post-grant reviews.

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