35 U.S.C. § 6 — Patent Trial and Appeal Board

(a) In General. The Patent and Trademark Office has a Patent Trial and Appeal Board. It's made up of the Director, the Deputy Director, the Commissioner for Patents, the Commissioner for Trademarks, and the administrative patent judges. Those judges must have solid legal knowledge and scientific ability, and the Secretary appoints them after consulting with the Director. Wherever any federal law, executive order, rule, regulation, delegation of authority, or document refers to the old "Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences," that reference now means the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. (b) Duties. The Board has four jobs: reviewing an examiner's adverse decision on a patent application when an applicant appeals it in writing (under section 134(a)); reviewing appeals from reexaminations (under section 134(b)); conducting "derivation proceedings" — disputes over who actually invented something (under section 135); and conducting inter partes reviews and post-grant reviews (under chapters 31 and 32). (c) 3-Member Panels. Every appeal, derivation proceeding, post-grant review, and inter partes review must be heard by at least three Board members, chosen by the Director. Only the full Board — not fewer members — can grant a rehearing. (d) Treatment of Prior Appointments. The Secretary of Commerce can, at their discretion, treat an administrative patent judge's appointment as taking effect on the date the Director first appointed that judge — even if the judge had actually been holding office under a Director appointment made before this subsection became law. If someone challenges a judge's appointment, it's a valid defense to say the judge, even though originally appointed by the Director, was acting as a "de facto officer" — someone performing the job's duties even if their formal appointment had a defect.