Article suggestion: The Equal Access to Justice Act and the USPTO

During the recent en banc oral argument of NantKwest v. Iancu, Judge O’Malley brought up the subject of the constitutional overlay of the right of access to the courts.  Somehow my mind transmogrified that comment into a reference to the Equal Access to Justice Act. [Link]. In all candor, I know very little about the Equal Access to Justice Act.  So, the following suggestion might be dead in the water.  Nevertheless,  it might make for an interesting article for someone to take a look at the various USPTO proceedings in view of the Equal Access to Justice Act to see if there are any situations where an applicant or patent owner can recoup fees/expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act when prevailing.  One might want to take a look at how the PTO’s assertion that the Director is free to disregard the Board’s opinions on appeal (see the briefing of Knowles v. Matal) as well as stack panels to see how those behaviors impact the application of the Act.  Moreover, in the appeal of an IPR decision, the PTO will sometimes step into the shoes of an IPR Requestor — when the Requestor declines to participate in the appeal — that might be a relevant situation to consider, as well.

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