REEXAMINATION
reexamination,n.1.REDIRECT EXAMINATION <the attorney focused on the defendant’s
alibi during reexamination>.2.Patents. A proceeding by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to
determine whether prior art renders one or more claims of an already-issued patent invalid; specif.,
an administrative procedure by which a party can seek review of a patent on the basis of prior art
by the PTO <the alleged infringer, hoping to avoid liability, sought reexamination of the patent to
narrow its scope>. • A reexamination may be sought by anyone, even the patentee or an
anonymous informant, at any time during the life of a patent. Only patents and publications may
be considered as prior art. 35 USCA §§ 301–305. [Cases: Patents 134, 140.C.J.S. Patents §§
237–238, 251.] — reexamine,vb.
ex parte reexamination.A reexamination procedure, created in the early 1980s, that allows a
challenger to initiate a review by producing prior art and responding to a patentee’s statements
regarding the new prior art, but that excludes the challenger from further participation in the
examination process. • Ex parte reexamination does not employ discovery mechanisms, and
witnesses are not examined. The challenger also has no right to participate in an appeal. See 35
USCA §§ 302–307. Cf. inter partes reexamination.
inter partes reexamination.A reexamination procedure, created in 1999, that allows a
challenger to initiate a review by producing prior art, to respond to a patentee’s statements
regarding the new prior art, to address the patentee’s responses to any office actions, and to request
a hearing. • Both parties must serve each other with documents filed in the proceeding, but there is
no discovery and witnesses are not examined. Either party may appeal the PTO’s final decision on
patentability. Inter partes reexamination is available to patents that issue from original applications
that were filed on or after November 29, 1999. See 35 USCA §§ 311–318. Cf. ex parte
reexamination. [Cases: Patents 140. C.J.S. Patents § 251.] [Blacks Law 8th]