Our Appeals Module offers valuable insights into the appeal process for both corporations and patent prosecutors. Corporate users can assess their outside counsel's performance by reviewing their appeal usage and outcomes. Meanwhile, patent prosecutors can search through appeals data to effortlessly locate cases involving specific appeal issues, enabling them to develop strategies and strengthen their prosecution.

The Appeals Module is organized into four sections: Overview, PTAB Outcomes, Pre-Decision Outcomes, and All Appeals Data. It also features filters for Appeal Basis, Appeal Outcome (such as examiner affirmed or reversed), and our usual Juristat filters.

To begin, select the Appeals button from the menu on the left side.

The Overview tab offers a high-level view of appeal activity through a set of interactive charts. At the top is the Appeals Overview flow chart, which shows the number of applications that reached a particular appeal stage. Hovering over different points on the flow chart reveals the number of applications that followed a specific appeal route.

Next, you'll see the Appeal Outcomes donut charts. These charts show the outcomes of an examiner's applications at three stages of the appeal process: the Pre-Appeal Brief Conference, the Appeal Briefing stage, and the PTAB. These charts update automatically based on the dataset you've selected and the filters you've applied, making it simple to compare outcomes and identify trends at a glance.

The Overview also shows the most appealed examiners and art units within your dataset. Scroll to the bottom to view charts listing the examiners and art units with the highest appeal counts. Each row displays the name, total disposed applications, number of appeals filed, and the appeal percentage. These top appealed examiners and art units update dynamically as you apply filters and refine your search.

This section shows how appeals are resolved at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). At the top, you'll find metrics showing the percentage of decisions where the examiner was reversed, reversed in part, or affirmed for the currently selected dataset.

Below these metrics, a detailed table offers a closer look at the outcomes. You can filter results by Company, Firm, Examiner, Art Unit, or Tech Center to see how PTAB decisions differ across various entities. Compare your entity with others to evaluate how you stand against your competition. You can export this table with your applied filters by clicking Export CSV in the top right corner.

Pre-Decision Outcomes are appeals closed before the PTAB issued a formal decision. At the top, metrics show the percentage of cases where the examiner withdrew, the prosecution continued, or the applicant abandoned.

The table below these metrics provides more details about pre-decision outcomes. Results can be filtered by Company, Firm, Examiner, Art Unit, or Tech Center, enabling you to see how pre-decision outcomes vary across different entities and identify where early resolutions are most frequent. These search results can be exported by clicking Export CSV in the top right corner.

This section provides a complete overview of all appeals data, including filing dates, outcomes, timelines, and related documents. Use the Appeals Filters dropdown to filter by outcomes and appeal basis, and apply filters by document types. Export and review detailed appeal information for individual applications.

The Appeals Module lets you explore outcomes and performance across the full lifecycle of appeals for all USPTO applications. However, applying filters allows you to narrow your search and focus on the details most relevant to your analysis. In addition to the standard filters that let you refine results by application information, assignees, firms, art units, and more, the Appeals Module also includes filters for Appeal Basis and Appeal Outcome.

The Appeal Basis filter allows you to filter appeals by the specific USPTO rejection being challenged, such as § 101 subject matter eligibility, § 102 novelty, or § 112(a) written description. This makes it easy to analyze how often a particular rejection leads to an appeal and to study trends in how those appeals are resolved.

The Appeal Outcome filter sorts results based on how the appeal was decided. Options include Examiner Affirmed, Examiner Reversed, and Examiner Reversed in part, among others. Use these filters to quickly find applications similar to yours and develop strategies based on how appeals with favorable results were handled.

Need further assistance? Contact us via the in-app chat or email us at support@juristat.com.