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1203 Composition of Board - 1200 Appeal
1203 Composition of Board
35 U.S.C. 6 provides for a Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences as follows:
35 U.S.C. 6 Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION.- There shall be in the United States Patent and Trademark Office a Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. The Director, the Commissioner for Patents, the Commissioner for Trademarks, and the administrative patent judges shall constitute the Board. The administrative patent judges shall be persons of competent legal knowledge and scientific ability who are appointed by the Director.
(b) DUTIES.- The Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences shall, on written appeal of an applicant, review adverse decisions of examiners upon applications for patents and shall determine priority and patentability of invention in interferences declared under section 135(a). Each appeal and interference shall be heard by at least three members of the Board, who shall be designated by the Director. Only the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences may grant rehearings.
If subsequent to the hearing, but prior to the decision, an administrative patent judge who heard the appeal becomes unable to participate in the decision or any subsequent action for some reason, the Chief Administrative Patent Judge of the Board, at his or her discretion, may without a rehearing substitute a different Board member for the one who is unavailable, or may offer the appellant the opportunity for a rehearing. See In re Bose Corp., 772 F.2d 866, 227 USPQ 1 (Fed. Cir. 1985).
Should a member die or otherwise become unavailable (for example, retirement) to reconsider a decision, normally another member will be designated by the Chief Administrative Patent Judge as a substitute for the absent member.
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