Retired US judges slam AIA

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Retired US judges slam AIA

Three retired senior judges have criticised the America Invents Act as a recipe for more litigation and greater confusion about the way the patent system works

The three headlined yesterday’s AIPLA Annual Meeting session, “Patent Litigation Under the AIA.” The session was so packed that the roughly 1,000 attendees overflowed into the hallways surrounding the room.

The panel included former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Paul Michel, former Administrative Patent Law Judge on the USPTO’s Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, Judge Nancy Linck, and Judge Joseph Farnan, who retired from the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

All three judges were frank in their criticism of the America Invents Act, which Farnan said includes “eye wash, feel-good” remedies for the courts. “This Act is a lot about reining in certain types of patentees, but it doesn’t take a broad brush to reforming the system,” said Farnan. “In district courts, it’s going to be a lot more litigation and confusion,” he added.

Linck questioned why the U.S. decided to adopt a post grant opposition system, which has been an aspect of the systems of many other countries. Although in favor of harmonization, Linck asked: “Why does the U.S. want to pattern its system after other countries when ours is the strongest patent system in the world? Other countries should be lining up with us.”

Michel blamed Congress for the failures of the AIA. He said that while there are some positive provisions in the Act, the bad outweighs the good. He was particularly critical of the post grant review system. “The idea that we can all be confident these proceedings will be done within a year’s time is an illusion,” said Michel. He said that the AIA is “another example of over-intervention by Congress.”

The Federal Circuit’s current Chief Judge, Randall Rader, has expressed concerns about the potential effects of increased volume of cases in light of the AIA on his court as well, particularly since there are currently two vacancies.

Download the AIPLA Daily Report, published by Managing IP from Washington, DC from our conference newspapers page.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

The firm explains how it secured a $170.6 million verdict against the government in a patent dispute surrounding airport technology, and why the case led to interest from other inventors
Developments of note included the court partially allowing a claim concerning confidentiality clubs and a decision involving technology used in football matches
The firm said adding capability in the French capital completes its coverage of all major patent litigation jurisdictions as it strives for UPC excellence
Marc Fenster explains how keeping the jury focused on the most relevant facts helped secure a $279m win for his client against Samsung
Clients are divided on what externally funded IP firms bring to the table, so those firms must prove why the benefits outweigh the downsides
Rahul Bhartiya, AI coordinator at the EUIPO, discusses the office’s strategy, collaboration with other IP offices, and getting rid of routine tasks
A boom in transactional work and a heightened awareness of IP have helped boost revenue for the rebranded commercial services team
Clemens Heusch, head of global litigation and dispute resolution at Nokia, tells us why open conversations – and respectful challenges – lead to the best results
Siegmund Gutman, who joined Mintz one year ago, explains the firm’s approach to life sciences litigation and what it means for hiring plans
The merger of two IP boutiques could prompt others to follow suit and challenge Australia’s externally funded firms
Gift this article