Boston Patent Law Association Response to USPTO Request for Comments Regarding Issues Associated With, and Options for Designing, a Small Claims Patent Court

Jonathan Roses co-authored on behalf of the Boston Patent Law Association (BPLA) a July 2022 Response to USPTO Request for Comments regarding issues associated with, and options for designing, a small claims patent court. The Response suggested that the USPTO carefully consider the issues that influence the high cost of patent litigation and post-grant proceedings, and how those would be addressed in a small claims-type forum. In addition, the Response noted that as the USPTO considers stripping down features of a voluntary proceeding to try to achieve the goal of reduced cost as compared to federal district court litigation or post-grant proceedings, consideration should be given to whether such an option would meaningfully differ from available mechanisms for dispute resolution, such as binding arbitration. The USPTO should consider whether its efforts may simply produce a system redundant of extant forums, according to the Response. In conclusion, the Response proposed the USPTO should consider convening an advisory board of litigation and post-grant practitioners that can provide substantive input on these numerous issues, as this would advance the process.