Creative COVID-Time Deposition Procedure, PTAB Litigation Blog
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Depositions for proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) are usually taken in the U.S. See 37 C.F.R. § 42.53(b)(2), (b)(3). Furthermore, many foreign jurisdictions have restrictions on taking depositions within their jurisdictions for use in U.S. courts. Therefore in PTAB proceedings, expert witnesses who reside abroad often travel to the U.S. for cross‑examination. However, this arrangement is becoming increasingly difficult due to the various travel restrictions and quarantine requirements currently in place around the world. The PTAB and the parties were faced with this challenge in BlueCatBio MA Inc. v. Yantai AusBio Laboratories Co., Ltd., PGR2020-00051, and the solution they reached illustrates what the “new normal” may be.
