Patexia, an intellectual property company that performs analytical studies for IP-related issues, named Buchanan as a Top 10 law firm representing patent owners. Patexia’s report indicated that Buchanan’s Patent Office Litigation Practice Group has a success rate of 78% in defending patents challenged in IPR proceedings.

An inter partes review (IPR) is an adversarial proceeding conducted before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in which a third party petitioner challenges the validity of an issued patent.  In the last five years, IPRs have become a popular choice for contesting the validity of issued patents.  According to the PTAB’s most recent statistics, over 9,000 IPR petitions have been filed since September 2012. IPRs serve as a faster, more cost-efficient alternative to contesting the validity of issued patents in district courts.