board of patent appeals and interferences
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. Patents & trademarks. The quasi-judicial body in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that hears (1) appeals from patent applicants whose claims have been rejected by a patent examiner, and (2) interference contests between two or more applicants trying to patent the same invention. • This tribunal assumed the work previously handled by the Board of Appeals and the Board of Patent Interferences. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit hears appeals from this tribunal. See INTERFERENCE(3). [Cases: Patents 111. C.J.S. Patents §§ 180–183.]
