The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) became fully effective in March 2013, and its impact over the last five years continues to disrupt U.S. patent practice. The AIA made significant statutory changes to how patent applications were prosecuted at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); however, the changes to post-grant proceedings (PGPs) are possibly more significant.

The AIA authorized administrative proceedings as an alternative to litigation and left it to the USPTO to promulgate accompanying rules to incentivize various PGPs where patents could be challenged, see Pub. L. No. 112-29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011). To accomplish the objectives of the PGPs, the USPTO established the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) as an administrative tribunal to oversee the proceedings and conduct trials.