Smith Baluch LLP Announces Publication of Ex Parte Reexamination Treatise
Smith Baluch LLP is pleased to announce the publication of Ex Parte Reexamination: Advanced Petition Practice, a new online treatise by partner Andrew S. Baluch.
The treatise provides a practical framework for navigating petition practice in ex parte reexamination. Organized by procedural stage, it examines issues arising before the Office orders reexamination, after the order, during examination, after final rejection, and through appellate and judicial review.
Topics include the proper use of petitions under 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.181–1.183, discretionary denial under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d), statutory estoppel, opposition practice, extensions of time, filing mechanics, and the boundary between petitionable and appealable issues.
“Petition practice in ex parte reexamination turns on the issue presented, the stage of the proceeding, and the governing authority,” said Mr. Baluch. “This treatise is intended to give practitioners a structured way to identify the correct procedural vehicle and understand how the Office has applied it.”
Ex Parte Reexamination: Advanced Petition Practice is published as a living reference. Its sections are individually dated and updated as USPTO practice develops, with analysis grounded in the governing statutes and regulations, the MPEP, Office notices, and representative petition decisions.
Mr. Baluch focuses his practice on complex USPTO post-grant proceedings and appellate matters. Before entering private practice, he served as an expert legal adviser to the USPTO Director during the negotiation and enactment of the America Invents Act and worked with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on implementing the AIA’s post-grant proceedings.