What happened to inter partes reexamination requests?
Inter partes reexamination requests are no longer accepted as of September 16, 2012. The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) Section 2626 states:
“No requests for inter partes reexamination may be filed on or after September 16, 2012.”
This change was part of the America Invents Act, which replaced inter partes reexamination with inter partes review.
To learn more:
Topics:
MPEP 2600 - Optional Inter Partes Reexamination,
MPEP 2626 - Initial Processing Of Request For Inter Partes Reexamination,
Patent Law,
Patent Procedure