PTAB Written Decision Cancelling Claims of Patent Does Not Give CAFC Pause

The CAFC denied SAP’s request to stay the further processing of their appeal (SAP is seeking en banc review) pending rehearing of the USPTO’s Patent Trial & Appeal Board’s (PTAB) recent written decision cancelling the claims of the patent-at-issue. The simple one page order (here) denies the requested relief without elaboration. Given the Court’s history with similar requests, the outcome is not surprising. Still as made clear in last week’s Baxter decision, until judgment is actually executed against SAP, the race to the finish will continue. That is to say, the CBM will makes its way onto the CAFC appeal docket in a matter of months while the pending district court appeal goes through the en banc and petition for certiorari stages.

SAP filed the very first petition for a Covered Business Method Patent Challenge (CBM) on September 16th (CBM2012-00001). The petition (here) challenged U.S. Patent 6,553,350 of Versata Development Group. In May of 2011, Versata secured a $391 million dollar verdict in the Eastern District of Texas against SAP. The verdict was upheld by the CAFC some weeks ago, but SAP is now seeking en banc review.