By Kerry Taylor, Daniel Kamkar and Joel Broussard (January 16, 2018, 1:39 PM EST) -- Inter partes reviews are designed to quickly and efficiently settle patent validity disputes on novelty and obviousness. The timing for IPR proceedings is set forth by statute. Therefore, the overall time to reach a final written decision on validity is highly predictable — it takes approximately 18 months from the filing of an IPR petition to reach a final written decision. Either party may appeal the final written decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. However, the overall time to reach a decision by the Federal Circuit is not strictly controlled, and the timing varies from case to case. Litigants entering into IPR proceedings often need to determine the total amount of time through appeal that the proceeding will be pending....