PTAB History

How PTAB Was Created

The people, companies, legislation and policy decisions behind America’s system for challenging issued patents.

PTAB did not appear overnight. Modern inter partes review grew out of earlier patent reexamination procedures, government studies, congressional hearings, competing legislative proposals, public advocacy and USPTO rulemaking.

Congress created the modern statutory framework through the bipartisan Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011. USPTO developed implementing regulations through public rulemaking before the new proceedings became operational in 2012.