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PTAB

PTAB Public Admission

Our hearing locations include Alexandria, Virginia; Detroit, Michigan; Denver, Colorado; San Jose, California; and Dallas, Texas. Our regional locations and Telework Enhancement Act Pilot Program afford the PTAB the opportunity to provide work locations for APJs in specific regions with diverse legal and technical experience.

The PTAB hears public and non-public hearings. Public hearings are open to the general public for observation. Non-public hearings are closed to the general public; only parties associated with the case are allowed to observe. All hearing rooms vary in size and the smaller rooms in Alexandria, Virginia, and the regional offices may fill to capacity; however, the regional offices have designated overflow rooms for such instances. If a hearing room fills to capacity in Alexandria, Virginia, and there is an available hearing room, it can be used as an overflow room. In all overflow rooms the public will have the ability to see and hear the oral hearing in its entirety. The PTAB does not take reservations from the general public for hearings. All entry is on a first-come, firstserved basis.

Visitors to public hearing rooms must undergo security screening. All visitors require a valid form of government-issued identification to gain access. Patent practitioners and agents should counsel their clients about the PTAB visitation procedures (e.g., the need to bring photo identification and appropriate courtroom etiquette and attire). Security procedures vary in each regional location. Therefore, please arrive at least 30 minutes before the scheduled hearing to arrive on time. For groups of 10 or more observers, please contact the deputy clerk for information needed to aid security. In Alexandria, Virginia, after passing through security, all parties, as well as public attendees, are to proceed to the attorney waiting area on the 9th floor of the Madison East Building and sign in at the usher desk. The usher will assist the parties with sign in procedures and provide any requested information. All parties and public attendees will remain seated in the hearings waiting area until instructed to enter the hearing room.

Ex parte appeals and reexaminations are scheduled in hearing sessions containing up to six proceedings being heard. After you sign in and are seated, the judges will inform the usher when they are ready for the first case. The usher will escort the attorney and any attendees into the hearing room. The attorney will be directed to the podium to present oral argument. Attendees will be directed to have a seat in the gallery of the hearing room. Each case in the hearing room will be called and heard separately by the judges.

For AIA trials, all parties and public attendees will be permitted in the hearing room approximately 15 minutes prior to the start of the session. Parties are given this time to set up and ensure computers are functional for presentation purposes. Late entry into the hearing room will not be permitted.

The PTAB conducts a large number of proceedings in Alexandria, Virginia, and in all regional offices throughout the year. Many of these proceedings may be of interest to various audiences not directly involved with the proceeding. The PTAB supports the observation of these proceedings by internal and external stakeholders (both in-person and remotely from regional office locations). It is important, however, to ensure the hearings team in Alexandria, Virginia, is aware of all proceedings in which it is expected that there will be more than five observers associated with the parties in the hearing room as well as any observers located remotely from within the USPTO. The hearings team may be contacted by any of the response methods set forth in the Notice of Hearing (appeals) or by emailing Trials@uspto.gov (AIA trials).

AIA trials

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