In the U.S. v. Arthrex case, the US Supreme Court decided that PTAB judges were wrongly appointed but holding that the USPTO’s Director should have the unilateral ability to review the judges’ decisions.

This way US Supreme Court has provided a remedy such that if PTAB decisions are reviewed by the USPTO’s Director then the constitutionality requirement would be met.

Next, we can expect USPTO to institute a process where PTAB decisions can be reviewed by the USPTO’s Director. That review will probably be in a form of a petition to the USPTO’s Director. Under the current rules, no petition can be filed to the USPTO’s Director for PTAB cases. That will probably change as a result of the US Supreme Court decision.

Stay tuned for the news on the new process at the USPTO.