The USPTO issued a notice in the Federal Register regarding the options for amendments by a patent owner to their patent through reissue or reexamination. The notice reminds patent owners that various options exist for a patent owner to amend their patent, including both before and after the PTAB has issued a final written decision in an AIA proceeding. The USPTO confirmed that it will consider a reissue application or a request for reexamination any time before, but not after, either: (1) the Office issues a certificate that cancels all claims of a patent, e.g., a trial certificate in an AIA trial proceeding, or (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issues a mandate in relation to a decision that finds all claims of a patent are invalid or unpatentable. As a result, a patent owner might seek to amend a patent via reissue even after an AIA trial proceeding has resulted in an invalidation of the claims of the patent, so long as that reissue application is filed before the USPTO issues a trial certificate. This notice reinforces several options that are thus available to patent owners to amend, and in some cases save, a patent.
