By Sunjeev S. Sikand and Thomas G. Southard of RatnerPrestia, P.C.
Sunjeev Sikand focuses his practice on patent counseling, prosecution, and adversarial proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Sikand also has a broad background in U.S. patent litigation before federal district courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission. He works primarily with clients in the computer and software industries.
Tom Southard is a Shareholder in RatnerPrestia’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on patent, trademark, copyright, and unfair competition litigation across a broad range of technologies including computer hardware and software, mechanical and medical devices, and wireless communication systems.
Every day, businesses throughout the world are served with a patent infringement complaint. In nearly all cases, a question over patent validity arises. Disputing patent validity in federal court, however, can be a costly undertaking.
To balance the playing field, the America Invents Act (“AIA”) ushered in new post-grant options for accused infringers to contest the validity of patents at the Patent Office, instead of in federal court. 1 When faced with an infringement complaint, accused infringers must decide whether it makes sense to utilize these post-grant options to challenge the validity of the asserted patent before the Patent Office, factoring in cost, timing, the str...
