US Patent Alert: USPTO Updates PTAB Trial Practice Guide, Introduces Pre-hearing Conferences

On December 12, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued an advanced notice of change to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board Trial Practice Guide. (See PTAB issues updates to the Trial Practice Guide). This update introduces pre-hearing conferences to the trial schedule.

The Board will hold a pre-hearing conference fifteen days prior to an AIA oral hearing in cases instituted under the process implemented on October 17, 2025. In other cases, parties may request a pre-hearing conference by emailing Trials@uspto.gov.

The Board will use the conference to provide guidance to the parties on issues to address during the hearing. The notice provides a sample scheduling order that includes the new pre-hearing conference.

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