UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES
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`Paper ____
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`ENTERED: 3 January 2006
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`STANDING ORDER
`This Standing Order is entered in, and governs, contested cases assigned to the Trial
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`Division of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. Parties are expected to be
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`familiar with it. The rules reproduced in the Standing Order are current as of the issue
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`date of the Standing Order, but are subject to change. In the event of a change to a
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`rule, the changed rule will control, the Standing Order notwithstanding.
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`CONTENTS
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`¶ 1 Applicability of 37 CFR part 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
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`¶ 2 Board organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
`¶ 2.1 Trial Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
`¶ 2.2 Trial Procedures Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
`¶ 2.3 Trial Merits Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
`¶ 2.4 Board staff
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`¶ 3 Petitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
`¶ 3.1 Procedural relief sought through miscellaneous motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
`¶ 3.2 Petition affecting the merits in a contested case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
`¶ 3.3 Petitions under 35 U.S.C. 135(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
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`¶ 4 Good cause requirement for untimeliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
`¶ 4.1 High standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
`¶ 4.2 Settlement
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`¶ 5 Pro hac vice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
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`¶ 6 Publication of opinions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
`¶ 6.1 Most opinions are publicly available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
`¶ 6.2 Notice of confidential information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
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`IGT EXHIBIT 2003
`Zynga v. IGT, IPR2022-00199
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`¶ 7 Record management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
`¶ 7.1 Letters between counsel not to be filed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
`¶ 7.2 No duplicate papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
`¶ 7.3 Reference to earlier filed paper
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`¶ 8 Mandatory notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
`¶ 8.1 Real party-in-interest
`¶ 8.2 Related proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
`¶ 8.3 Notice of judicial review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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`¶ 9 Ownership determined from Office assignment record . . . . . . . . 7
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`¶ 10 Communications with the Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
`¶ 10.1 Default mode - electronic mail
`¶ 10.2 Any United States Postal Service, including EXPRESS MAIL . . . . . . . . . . . 8
`¶ 10.3 Hand filing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
`¶ 10.4 Overnight delivery services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
`¶ 10.5 Telephone calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
`¶ 10.6 Facsimile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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`¶ 11 Ex parte communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
`¶ 11.1 Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
`¶ 11.2 Other forms of communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
`¶ 11.3 Permissible contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
`¶ 11.4 Refusal to participate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
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`¶ 12 Citation of authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
`¶ 12.1 Copies of authority cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
`¶ 12.2 Parallel citation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
`¶ 12.3 Binding authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
`¶ 12.4 Primary authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
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`¶ 20 Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
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`¶ 100 Days and times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
`¶ 100.1 Business day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
`¶ 100.2 Time standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
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`¶ 101 Notice of proceeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
`¶ 101.1 Declaration of interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
`¶ 101.2 Maintaining proper address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
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`¶ 102 Completion of examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
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`¶ 103 Jurisdiction over related files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
`¶ 103.1 Access to related files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
`¶ 103.2 Action in related files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
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`¶ 104 Modification of the Standing Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
`¶ 104.1 Modification of Standing Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
`¶ 104.2 Times for motions phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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`¶ 105 Electronic filing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
`¶ 105.1 Filing in paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
`¶ 105.2 Electronic filing procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
`¶ 105.3 Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
`¶ 105.4 Format
`¶ 105.5 Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
`¶ 105.6 Exhibits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
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`¶ 106 Filing and service generally; in paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
`¶ 106.1 General format of papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
`¶ 106.2 Combined papers and incorporation not permitted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
`¶ 106.3 Transmittal sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
`¶ 106.4 Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
`¶ 106.5 Filing in paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
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`¶ 108 Lead and backup counsel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
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`¶ 109 Request for file copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
`¶ 109.1 Filing the request
`¶ 109.2 Filling record requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
`¶ 109.3 Notification on non-receipt
`¶ 109.4 Record of contested case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
`¶ 109.5 Access to paper files at Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
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`¶ 110 Copies of claims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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`¶ 120 Types of notices of basis for requesting relief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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`¶ 121 Motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
`¶ 121.1 Title and numbering of motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
`¶ 121.2 Page limits in motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
`¶ 121.3 Burden of proof
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`¶ 121.4 Format
`¶ 121.5 Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
`¶ 121.6 Claim chart alternative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
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`¶ 122 Oppositions and replies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
`¶ 122.1 Numbering oppositions and replies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
`¶ 122.2 Page limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
`¶ 122.3 Format
`¶ 122.4 Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
`¶ 122.5 New issues in replies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
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`¶ 123 Miscellaneous motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
`¶ 123.1 Mandatory conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
`¶ 123.2 Timeliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
`¶ 123.3 Recording conference calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
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`¶ 124 Oral argument
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
`¶ 124.1 Request for oral argument
`¶ 124.2 Attendance; special needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
`¶ 124.3 Security; access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
`¶ 124.4 Demonstrative exhibits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
`¶ 124.5 Transcription of oral argument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
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`¶ 125 Rehearing of decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
`¶ 125.1 Time for filing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
`¶ 125.2 Format for request for rehearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
`¶ 125.3 Number of requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
`¶ 125.4 New evidence on rehearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
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`¶ 126 Settlement discussions required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
`¶ 126.1 Last-named party initiates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
`¶ 126.2 Initial conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
`¶ 126.3 Subsequent conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
`¶ 126.4 Filing notice of conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
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`¶ 127 Estoppel; rehearing of judgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
`¶ 127.1 Estoppel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
`¶ 127.2 Rehearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
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`¶ 128 Sanctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
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`¶ 150 Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
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`¶ 150.1 Automatic discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
`¶ 150.2 Requesting additional discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
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`¶ 151 Challenging admissibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
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`¶ 152 Rules of evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
`¶ 152.1 Official notice not automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
`¶ 152.2 Hearsay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
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`¶ 153 Certification of Office records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
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`¶ 154 Form of evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
`¶ 154.1 Records of the Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
`¶ 154.2 Exhibit labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
`¶ 154.3 Filing of exhibits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
`¶ 154.4 Exhibit list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
`¶ 154.5 Evidence on DVD digital disc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
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`¶ 155 Challenging admissibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
`¶ 155.1 Objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
`¶ 155.2 Motion to exclude evidence; motion in limine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
`¶ 155.3 Time to file objections and motions to exclude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
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`¶ 156 Compelled testimony and production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
`¶ 156.1 Form of motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
`¶ 156.2 Alternative procedures for compelled testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
`¶ 156.3 Admissibility of compelled testimony and production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
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`¶ 157 Direct testimony; cross examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
`¶ 157.1 Direct testimony as affidavit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
`¶ 157.2 Required paragraph for affidavits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
`¶ 157.3 Cross examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
`¶ 157.4 Order of cross examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
`¶ 157.5 Cross examination guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
`¶ 157.6 Transcript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
`¶ 157.7 Observations on cross examinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
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`¶ 158 Expert testimony; tests and data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
`¶ 158.1 Expert testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
`¶ 158.2 Tests and data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
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`¶ 200 Interference procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
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`¶ 200.1 Patent claim scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
`¶ 200.2 Pendency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
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`¶ 203 Suggesting another interference; adding an application or a
`patent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
`¶ 203.1 Suggesting another interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
`¶ 203.2 Adding an application or a patent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
`
`¶ 204 Motions list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
`
`¶ 205 Settlement agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
`¶ 205.1 Notice under 35 U.S.C. 135(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
`¶ 205.2 Petitions under 35 U.S.C. 135(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
`
`¶ 206 Common interests in the invention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
`
`¶ 207 Applicability of prior art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
`
`¶ 208 Specific substantive motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
`¶ 208.1 Obviousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
`¶ 208.2 Adding or substituting a count
`¶ 208.3 Claim correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
`¶ 208.4 Benefit motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
`¶ 208.5 Responsive motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
`¶ 208.6 Priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
`¶ 208.7 Inequitable conduct
`
`Appendix of Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
`
`Form 1. Standard caption for an interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
`
`Form 2. Typical schedule for motions other than interference priority . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
`
`Form 3. Typical schedule for priority motions in an interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
`
`Form 4. File copy request
`
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
`
`Cross Examination Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
`
`Index of Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
`
`vi
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`

`

`¶ 1 Applicability of 37 CFR part 1
`
`Part 1 of 37 CFR was drafted principally with patent prosecution in mind, while
`
`37 CFR Part 41 is directed to proceedings before the Board. If Part 41 or the Standing
`
`Order expressly requires different procedure than Part 1, then Part 41 or the Standing
`
`Order, respectively, will govern. A party that perceives a conflict between Part 1 and
`
`either Part 41 or the Standing Order must promptly raise the issue with the Board.
`
`¶ 2 Board organization
`
`¶ 2.1 Trial Division
`
`The Chief Administrative Patent Judge has designated administrative patent judges
`
`to constitute the Trial Division, who decide most contested cases, as well as appeals
`
`involving patent reexaminations and reissue applications or applications relating to
`
`interferences. The Trial Division consists of two sections—
`
`# the Trial Procedures Section and
`
`# the Trial Merits Section.
`
`¶ 2.2 Trial Procedures Section
`
`Within the Trial Division, the Chief Administrative Patent Judge has designated
`
`administrative patent judges to constitute the Trial Procedures Section. The principal
`
`function of the Trial Procedure Section is to ready interference cases for a merits
`
`decision on substantive motions, including interference priority motions. Accordingly,
`
`1
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`

`

`administrative patent judges will handle all interlocutory matters in contested cases,
`
`including but not limited to—
`
`# declaration of interferences,
`
`# setting times for taking action, and
`
`# administering discovery.
`
`¶ 2.3 Trial Merits Section
`
`Within the Trial Division, the Chief Administrative Patent Judge has designated
`
`administrative patent judges to constitute the Trial Merits Section. The principal
`
`function of the Trial Merits Section is to prepare opinions on the merits of substantive
`
`motions, including interference priority motions.
`
`¶ 2.4 Board staff
`
`Board staff other than administrative patent judges may administer some tasks
`
`during contested cases. For instance, Trial Division paralegal assistants enter orders
`
`authorizing access to files under Bd.R. 109 and authorizing the filing of facsimile
`
`transmissions in excess of the five pages permitted under SO ¶ 10.6. Staff actions are
`
`controlling unless countermanded by an administrative patent judge or a Board panel.
`
`¶ 3 Petitions
`
`¶ 3.1 Procedural relief sought through miscellaneous motion
`
`A request for a procedural remedy must be made in the form of a miscellaneous
`
`motion. Bd.R. 121(a)(3); SO ¶ 123. A petition is not appropriate. No fee is required.
`
`2
`
`

`

`¶ 3.2 Petition affecting the merits in a contested case
`
`Any relief affecting the merits of a contested case must be sought in the form of a
`
`motion. Bd.R. 121. If the relief would otherwise require the granting of a petition, the
`
`petition, including any required fee, must be filed with the motion. Bd.R. 121(c)(2). A
`
`party filing a petition in violation of this subparagraph may be subject to sanctions.
`
`Bd.R. 128.
`
`¶ 3.3 Petitions under 35 U.S.C. 135(c)
`
`Petitions based on 35 U.S.C. 135(c) are not part of a contested case. Bd.R. 3(b)
`
`and Bd.R. 205.
`
`¶ 4 Good cause requirement for untimeliness
`
`¶ 4.1 High standard
`
`The standard for showing good cause under Bd.R. 4(a) is high. Times are set
`
`to facilitate the rendering of timely decisions. There are few, if any, circumstances
`
`where good cause can be based on the press of other business arising after a time is
`
`set by a Board order, particularly where a time period is set or maintained after a
`
`conference with counsel.
`
`¶ 4.2 Settlement
`
`An attempt to settle will rarely constitute good cause. Settlement is encouraged,
`
`and the administrative patent judge designated to handle a contested case is available
`
`to assist in settlement efforts where appropriate, but parties should expect either to
`
`settle the contested case or, in the absence of settlement, to meet each deadline.
`
`3
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`

`

`¶ 5 Pro hac vice
`
`Contested cases can be technically, legally, and procedurally complex.
`
`Consequently, a motion to appear pro hac vice will rarely be granted unless the counsel
`
`is an experienced litigating attorney and has an established familiarity with the subject
`
`matter at issue in the contested case.
`
`The Board may authorize a person other than a registered practitioner to appear as
`
`counsel in a specific proceeding.
`
`¶ 6 Publication of opinions
`
`¶ 6.1 Most opinions are publicly available
`
`Most opinions in contested cases will be available for publication during the
`
`proceeding. Virtually all become available at the end of the proceeding. The recent
`
`experience in contested cases is that redactions are almost never requested.
`
`¶ 6.2 Notice of confidential information
`
`Some opinions are selected for publication to promote public understanding of Trial
`
`Division practice or to create uniform practices. If a party believes that its application
`
`contains information not otherwise publicly available that should be redacted from any
`
`opinion, the party must within two (2) months of the initiation of the contested case file
`
`as a separate paper a notice specifically identifying such information.
`
`4
`
`

`

`If additional information not otherwise publicly available is introduced into a
`
`contested case that a party believes should be redacted from any opinion, the party
`
`must promptly file a notice specifically identifying the information.
`
`If, after filing such notice, specifically identified information becomes publicly
`
`available (for example, through publication of a collateral application), the party must
`
`promptly notify the Board of this change in the status of the information.
`
`¶ 7 Record management
`
`¶ 7.1 Letters between counsel not to be filed
`
`No letter between counsel may be filed unless it is filed as an exhibit cited—
`
`# in a motion, opposition, or reply, or
`
`# during cross-examination.
`
`¶ 7.2 No duplicate papers
`
`A party may not file (not even as an appendix or exhibit) a copy of a paper
`
`previously filed in the same contested case.
`
`¶ 7.3 Reference to earlier filed paper
`
`A party referring to an earlier filed paper should identify the paper by title and paper
`
`number or, if the paper number is not known, by the filing date.
`
`5
`
`

`

`¶ 8 Mandatory notices
`
`¶ 8.1 Real party-in-interest
`
`Within fourteen (14) days of the date of the Declaration, each party must file as a
`
`separate paper a notice of any and all right, title, or interest in any application or patent
`
`involved in the contested case.
`
`¶ 8.2 Related proceedings
`
`Within fourteen (14) days of the initiation of a contested case, each party must file
`
`and serve as a separate paper a notice identifying the application or patent number of
`
`every United States application or patent claiming, or which may claim, the benefit of
`
`priority of the filing date of the party’s involved patent or application. If there are no
`
`such applications or patents the notice must state this fact. If, during the course of the
`
`proceeding, a party files an application claiming, or which may claim, the benefit of the
`
`filing date of an involved application or patent, a notice of the filing, including the
`
`application number, must be promptly served and filed. The Board may order a party to
`
`serve on an opponent a copy of any application or patent identified under this
`
`paragraph.
`
`¶ 8.3 Notice of judicial review
`
`A party seeking judicial review must notify the Board of the complaint or notice of
`
`appeal within 20 days. Bd.R. 8(b). After a contested case ends, administrative tasks
`
`remain for the United States Patent and Trademark Office [Office] generally and for the
`
`Board particularly. Files need to be distributed, applications need to be allowed or
`
`abandoned, and notices of patent claim cancellation need to be published. If the Board
`
`6
`
`

`

`does not receive timely, effective notice of judicial review, it proceeds on the
`
`assumption that no review has been sought. The Office may deem an application
`
`abandoned or may issue a patent to the opponent. At best, this leaves the litigant with
`
`a problem to correct. Failure to provide adequate notice may result in sanctions under
`
`Bd.R. 128.
`
`¶ 9 Ownership determined from Office assignment record
`
`In the absence of an assignment of record, the inventor is the presumptive owner of
`
`an involved patent or application. It is the responsibility of each party to ensure that its
`
`assignments are properly recorded at the Office. Failure to record an assignment can
`
`lead to adverse judgment in a contested case.
`
`Cases involving a United States government interest may be referred to the Civil
`
`Division of the United States Department of Justice. 28 C.F.R. § 0.45(f).
`
`¶ 10 Communications with the Board
`
`¶ 10.1 Default mode - electronic mail
`
`Electronic mail is the default mode of filing papers in a contested case. See
`
`SO ¶ 105. Papers authorized to be filed electronically must be electronically mailed as
`
`an attachment to: BoxInterferences@USPTO.GOV. No papers unrelated to the
`
`contested case may be filed at this address. Papers relating to the contested case
`
`must not be mailed to any other USPTO.GOV address.
`
`7
`
`

`

`The subject line may contain only the case number and the assigned administrative
`
`patent judge's initials in parentheses, e.g., in Patent Interference 105,000 before
`
`Administrative Patent Judge John Doe the subject line would be "105,000 (JD)".
`
`¶ 10.2 Any United States Postal Service, including EXPRESS MAIL
`
`If mailed correspondence is authorized in a contested case, it must be addressed:
`
`Mail Stop INTERFERENCE
`Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`PO Box 1450
`Alexandria Virginia 22313-1450
`
`Caveat: Any delay resulting from an improper address (including any address provided
`
`in SO ¶¶ 10.3 & 10.4) will be attributed to the party.
`
`¶ 10.3 Hand filing
`
`If hand-filed correspondence is authorized in a contested case, the filer must bear in
`
`mind that the delivery point lies inside the security zone on the first floor of:
`
`Madison East Building
`600 Dulany Street
`Alexandria, Virginia
`
`The courier must pass through a magnetometer, and the correspondence must pass
`
`through an X-ray sensor. For authorized hand-filed correspondence other than boxes,
`
`the correspondence may be deposited in a drop-off box inside the security zone at the
`
`first floor lobby of the Madison East Building.
`
`8
`
`

`

`¶ 10.3.1 Boxes
`
`Boxed correspondence cannot be deposited in the drop-off box. Instead, it must be
`
`delivered to Madison East, Room 9B55-A. Access to Room 9B55-A is available on
`
`business days from 8:30 a.m to 4:45 p.m. (Eastern Time, SO ¶ 100.2) only.
`
`The courier should approach the security guard station on the first floor of Madison
`
`East (near the elevators) and ask the security guard to call the Board at 571-272-9797
`
`to obtain authorization to enter the building for a delivery to Room 9B55-A.
`
`¶ 10.3.2 Correspondence filed after 4:45 p.m.
`
`Authorized hand-filed correspondence filed after 4:45 p.m. (Eastern Time, SO
`
`¶ 100.2) will receive the next business day's filing date. If the Board receives the paper
`
`by 10 a.m. that next business day, it will be deemed to have been timely filed provided
`
`the paper was properly served the previous business day.
`
`¶ 10.3.3 Stamped receipt
`
`If a stamped return receipt is required, the courier must personally deliver the
`
`correspondence and postcard receipt to Room 9B55-A between 8:30 a.m to 4:45 p.m.
`
`(Eastern Time, SO ¶ 100.2) only, or leave the postcard with the correspondence in the
`
`drop-off box. If the postcard is left in the drop-off box, it must include correct postage
`
`and the address where the postcard is to be mailed.
`
`¶ 10.4 Overnight delivery services
`
`Papers authorized to be filed using a commercial overnight delivery service (see SO
`
`¶ 10.2 for United States Postal Service) must be addressed:
`
`9
`
`

`

`Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
`Madison Building East, 9th Floor
`600 Dulany Street
`Alexandria, Virginia 22313
`
`Properly addressed papers filed are deemed filed on the date they are delivered to the
`
`overnight delivery service.
`
`¶ 10.5 Telephone calls
`
`Telephone calls to the Board regarding a contested case must be directed to
`
`571-272-9797. A telephone call requesting a conference call must be directed to Trial
`
`Division support staff. When arranging a conference call, be prepared to discuss with a
`
`Trial Division paralegal why the call is needed and what materials should be before the
`
`Board participant during the call.
`
`¶ 10.6 Facsimile
`
`The facsimil