The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued new guidance on the use of Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations (SMEDs). These declarations serve as evidentiary submissions under 37 C.F.R. § 1.132 to address questions of patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. This guidance responds to a growing emphasis on ensuring consistent and predictable eligibility analysis, especially for rapidly evolving technologies such as artificial intelligence, distributed systems, and...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled “Revision to Rules of Practice before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board” (Docket No. PTO-P-2025-0025). The proposed revisions to 37 C.F.R. Part 42 aim to significantly reshape how inter partes review (IPR) proceedings are initiated before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).   The primary objectives appear to be reducing serial and parallel challenges, promoting finality and fairness, and...

In Ecto World, LLC and SV3, LLC v. RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc . ( Ecto ), the petitioner sought Director Review of the Patent Trial and...