Who Files Design Patent Reexamination Requests?
Who is making requests for design patent reexamination is interesting. Only 16% of all design patent reexamination requests have been owner initiated. 23% were filed by anonymous third-parties and 58% were requested by known third-parties. The remaining 3% were Commissioner ordered. This trend exists even if we only consider ex partes proceedings. Even then, 78% of all ex parte design patent reexamination requests were filed by a third-party and not by the patent owner. As typically seen in utility patent reexaminations, more than a third or 35% of all ex parte reexaminations are initiated by the patent owner. Also interesting is the origin of the requests where the third-party requester can be identified. In those, 21 or 41% originated from outside the United States. Leading the requests were entities from Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong. Design Patent Reexaminations Initiated by Third-Parties Does Technology Matter? Interestingly, no single technology area has been a target for de
