EX PARTE APPEALS PTAB DECISIONS TIME DECREASES
Recently, the USPTO published their statistics for ex parte appeals, which were discussed during the February 1st Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) quarterly meeting. The average time it takes for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to issue a decision for an ex parte appeal continues to decrease. This is good news for patent applicants, who in past years had to wait two to three years for a decision. The current average of approximately fifteen and a half months, though still long, will help make timing less of a consideration in deciding whether or not to appeal examiner rejections.