Using PTAB Proceedings to Challenge and Defend Patents: Standing, Serial IPRs, and Unintended Consequences
Recording of a 90-minute premium CLE webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will guide counsel on the strategic use of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings. The panel will discuss how companies are leveraging the PTAB system, as well as the risks involved. The panel will also examine what small companies and startups can do to counter challenges from larger competitors.
Outline
- PTAB proceedings as leverage for larger companies
- Rules that permit
- Risks
- Single petition
- Multiple petitions
- PTAB proceedings from the perspective of startups and small companies
- Patent portfolio as asset and liability
- Response strategies
- Funding challenges--for the PTAB and in the marketplace
- Case study
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- How are large, well-funded companies leveraging PTAB patent challenge mechanisms to challenge the patents of smaller patent holders?
- What strategies are patent owners employing to succeed at the PTAB? What considerations do they need to keep in mind as they defend their patents?
- Are claim amendments worthwhile? What is the most effective evidence for patent owners facing an obviousness challenge?
- What proactive steps can counsel take to minimize the threat of PTAB challenges?
Faculty

Steven C. Carlson
Partner
Robins Kaplan
Mr. Carlson is an IP litigator who draws upon national and international experience to assist clients with a wide range... | Read More
Mr. Carlson is an IP litigator who draws upon national and international experience to assist clients with a wide range of legal disputes, including patent litigation, trade secret matters, and copyright disputes. His professional experience covers a wide range of technologies, including pharmaceuticals, medical diagnostics, chemistry, machine learning, telecommunications, and robotics. Most recently, Mr. Carlson secured a trial verdict before the PTAB that invalidated multiple database technology patents used in the travel industry. A thought leader and an educator, Mr. Carlson has written numerous articles and books on the topic of patent litigation.
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Scott A. McKeown
Partner
Ropes & Gray
Mr. McKeown is a partner in Ropes & Gray’s intellectual property litigation practice and chair of the... | Read More
Mr. McKeown is a partner in Ropes & Gray’s intellectual property litigation practice and chair of the firm’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) group. He focuses his practice on post-grant patent counseling and litigation matters at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and related appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Mr. McKeown is also a Professorial Lecturer in Law at the George Washington University Law School where he lectures and writes extensively on PTAB proceedings. He is also the editor of the widely read legal blog PatentsPostGrant.com.
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