IPR Petitions

In 2012, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) instituted a new proceeding called Inter Partes Review (IPR).  IPR was created under the America Invents Act (AIA) and allows third parties to challenge patents before the USPTO more quickly and at a cost much lower than litigation.  A third party petitioner of an IPR may request to cancel an invalid patent on the basis of prior publications that teach or suggest the claimed invention.

Early results have been highly positive for those wishing to efficiently invalidate invalid patents. Askeladden, as part of its PQI, files IPRs with the USPTO challenging the validity of patents that Askeladden believes are invalid. In this way, Askeladden hopes to remove impediments to innovation and improve patent quality.

In 2016, Askeladden announced the formation of the Patent Challenge Committee to support its ongoing efforts to challenge low-quality patents through IPRs. 

Below is a table listing the IPR challenges that Askeladden has filed with the USPTO.