Thursday, February 11, 2010

From the TTAB Website: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Accelerated Case Resolution (ACR)

At the TTAB website you will find three papers explaining the Board's Accelerated Case Resolution (ACR) program, by which parties may obtain "a final determination of their opposition or cancellation proceeding quickly and without the time and expense of a full trial." The first paper provides a general overview of ACR, the second answers frequently asked questions, and the third presents a list of "ACR Cases and Cases Illustrating ACR-like Efficiencies." The Board plans to update the case list as more parties take advantage of ACR.


Here are a few highlights from the first paper:

ACR is a procedure akin to summary judgment in which parties can receive a determination of the claims and defenses in their case promptly, but without the uncertainty of result and delay typically presented by standard summary judgment practice.

A typical ACR case is anticipated to be one in which the parties are able to stipulate to many facts, or in which each party expects to rely on the testimony of only one or two witnesses and the overall record is not extensive.

In order to take advantage of ACR, the parties must stipulate that, in lieu of trial, the Board can resolve any issues of material fact. If the parties have already filed cross-motions for summary judgment, they may also stipulate that the Board may resolve any issues of material fact and consider the parties’ cross-motions as the parties’ final briefs in the case in lieu of a full trial.

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