But under current U.S. law, only patents issued before Nov. 29, 1999, can be reexamined inter parte, a process in which any interested party can participate.

In response to a request for public comment by the USPTO on whether inter parte reexaminations were fair, Ravicher argued that they could help improve patent quality by increasing the information available to examiners while affording businesses a less costly alternative than filing suit.

"We're very supportive of the reexamination process," Kaefer said. "We often use it ourselves. An important check on patent quality is allowing third parties to submit prior art."