Patent Quality Initiative formed to file amicus briefs, petition for IPRs, educate

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

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

Patent Quality Initiative formed to file amicus briefs, petition for IPRs, educate

Banking association and payments company The Clearing House has announced the formation of the Patent Quality Initiative (PQI), an advocacy organisation that will seek to promote strong patents and discourage the assertion of patents it believes are invalid

The organisation will undertake a number of strategic programmes including making pertinent prior art more easily accessible, providing educational research and briefings on the patent system and evolution of technology in financial services, and filing amicus briefs that highlight issues critical to patent quality.

PQI recently filed two amicus briefs urging courts to streamline the assessment of whether a patent is valid. The first amicus brief was in Ultramercial v Hulu and Wildtangent, while the second was in Intellectual Ventures v JPMC.

Additionally, PQI will petition the USPTO to conduct inter partes reviews (IPRs) on patents it believes are invalid. This ties in with a trend of organisations that are not directly involved in litigation filing petitions with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The Electronic Frontier Foundation last year filed an IPR to have a patent owned by Personal Audio invalidated, which was initiated in April this year. The Printing Industries of America also unsuccessfully filed IPRs against two patents owned by CTP Innovations.

Some firms that use membership fees to protect their members against non-practising entities also filed IPRs such as RPX and Unified Patents.

PQI is directed by Askeladden, a subsidiary of The Clearing House.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Attorneys explain why there are early signs that the US Supreme Court could rule in favour of ISP Cox in a copyright dispute
A swathe of UPC-related hires suggests firms are taking the forum seriously, as questions over the transitional stage begin
A win for Nintendo in China and King & Spalding hiring a prominent patent litigator were also among the top talking points
Rebecca Newman at Addleshaw Goddard, who live-reported on the seminal dispute, unpicks the trials and tribulations of the case and considers its impact
Attorneys predict how Lululemon’s trade dress and design patent suit against Costco could play out
Lawyers at Linklaters analyse some of the key UPC trends so far, and look ahead to life beyond the transition period
David Rodrigues, who previously worked at an IP boutique, said he may become more involved in transactional work at his new firm
Indian smartphone maker Lava must pay $2.3 million as a security deposit for past sales, as its dispute with Dolby over audio coding SEPs plays out
Powell Gilbert’s opening in Düsseldorf, complete with a new partner hire, continues this summer’s trend of UPC-related lateral movement
IP leaders at Brandsmiths and Bird & Bird, who were on opposing sides at the UK Supreme Court in Iconix v Dream Pairs, unpick the landmark case and its ramifications
Gift this article