Estoppel

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Pro-Patent Owner Options

The new Director of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in record time. With only a few weeks on the job, the Director issued a NPRM to switch the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI) currently used in Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) trial proceedings to a Phillips claim construction. The proposal was quickly lauded by Patent Owners believing that the application of the Phillips standard by the PTAB will lead to narrower claim constructions, and thus, more patents being upheld by the agency. But, as I pointed out previously, in practice, BRI is rarely different from a Phillips construction. In fact, utilizing the same standard at the PTAB as in the courts might only make matters worse for Patent Owners from a monetization perspective.

Impact of the proposed claim construction change aside, the speed at which the Director has acted speaks to his keen interest in improving the PTAB playing field for Patent Owners. With the Director expected to issue further proposals to aid Patent Owners, below are some likely candidates.
Continue Reading How Might the Director Improve the PTAB for Patent Owners?

Aqua Products Hoists PTAB Critics by Their Own Petard

SAS Institute To Send Patent Owners Screaming Into the Night?

The Supreme Court will get a heavy dose of the PTAB on November 27th. That is the day the High Court will hear oral arguments in both the Oil States and SAS Institute appeals. While almost all of the focus to date has been on Oil States, the case that is likely to have the biggest impact on the PTAB is SAS.

As a reminder, SAS argues that partial PTAB trial institutions are inconsistent with the controlling statutes of the America Invents Act (AIA).  That is, if the PTAB finds that at least one claim is demonstrated as reasonably likely to be proven (RLP) unpatentable, the PTAB should institute an IPR trial for all petitioned claims. As of today, if a petitioner challenges, say claims 1-10 of a patent, the PTAB assesses each claim as to the RLP standard.  So, if the PTAB is not satisfied as to claims 5-6 of claims 1-10, trial would only go forward on claims 1-4 and 7-10.

If SAS is successful on appeal, PTAB trials would go forward on all claims as long as a single claim of the petition was deemed to meet the RLP standard. This would be a significant change to PTAB trial practice with unfortunate consequences for Patent Owners.
Continue Reading SAS Institute & The PTAB: Be Afraid Patent Owners

Ex Parte Patent Reexamination Practices Adjusted to Account for Estoppel

The new estoppel provisions of Inter Partes Review (IPR) and Post Grant Review (PGR) differ from the previous estoppel provisions of inter partes patent reexamination in that they not only prevent a subsequent request for IPR/PGR from the same requester (or privies) on issues that were raised or reasonably could have been raised in the first proceeding, but prevent the filing or maintenance of any other “office proceeding.”

By definition a Post Grant Review (PGR) can only be conducted prior to an IPR. This is because an IPR can only be filed once the 9 month PGR window has ended, or after any ongoing PGR concludes. As such, the primary office proceeding that can be requested, or maintained in this regard (i.e., after IPR/PGR estoppel attaches) is ex parte patent reexamination (EXP).

As pointed out previously, in order to properly estop an ongoing EXP proceeding or filing, the Office must implement a system to track EXP filings with respect to the real party in interest. This tracking is complicated by the fact that many EXP proceedings are filed anonymously. Last Thursday, the USPTO issued their plan.…
Continue Reading USPTO to Revise Ex Parte Patent Reexamination Procedures

Estoppel Effect of USPTO Decision Attaches Only After All Appeals Exhausted

Estoppel, as it relates to inter partes patent reexamination (IPX) proceedings and the new inter partes review (IPR) of the AIA, has been a topic of discussion here over the past few weeks. As if on cue, the CAFC has chimed in with a bit of clarification on the topic of (IPX) estoppel as it relates to 35 USC § 315.

The USPTO has maintained the position that IPX estoppel (35 USC § 317) only attaches after all appeals are exhausted. That is to say, the USPTO will not honor an intermediate court result to for the purposes of vacating an ongoing IPX, or denying a new request, by operation of estoppel. Instead, the USPTO awaits a final appeal decision (or time for filing of such to pass). The Office has not had much opportunity to comment on the complimentary statute § 315 (c), which provides the estoppel effect of a USPTO decision on the district courts.  This analysis was performed this past week by the CAFC.…

Continue Reading CAFC Sides with USPTO Interpretation on Reexamination Estoppel Timing

Petition or Appeal?–Pursuit of SNQ Denial at the USPTOWhen pursuing inter partes patent reexamination, denial of a Substantial New Question of Patentability (SNQ) by the USPTO can be especially troubling to third party requesters. This is because a third party is estopped from asserting in litigation the “invalidity of any claim finally determined to be valid and patentable on any ground which the third-party requester raised or could have raised during the inter partes reexamination proceedings.” 35 U.S.C. § 315(c).Denied SNQs raise the fear of potential district court estoppel relative to the prior art underlying the denied SNQ. For this reason, third parties will almost always dispute such denials internal to the USPTO–even where the claims of the patent remain rejected based upon other SNQs of the same request.But, what is the appropriate vehicle for such a dispute, petition or appeal? The answer to this question will depend upon whether or not the denied SNQ pertains to a claim that is being actively reexamined on other grounds. As explained by an expanded panel of the Board of Patent Appeals & Interferences (BPAI) yesterday in Belkin International et al., v. Optimumpath LLC, the denial of an SNQ in inter partes patent reexamination is  petitionable, not appealable. In Belkin U.S. Patent 7,035,281 was reexamined (95/001,089). The request was granted as to claims 1-3 and 8-10, but denied as to claims 4-7 and 11-31.The denial of the SNQs applied to claims 4-7 and 11-31 was petitioned to the Director of the Central Reexamination Unit. Upon reconsideration, the Director refused to reverse the examiner. During prosecution, the rejection of claims 1-3 and 8-10 was later withdrawn by the examiner. Thereafter, the third party appealed the withdrawn rejection and the denial of the SNQs. On appeal, the BPAI affirmed the examiner’s decision to withdraw the rejection and confirm the patentability of claims 1-3 and 8-10. As to the appeal of the denied SNQs, the BPAI explained that such issues may not be appealed to the Board. . . . 35 U.S.C. § 312 states that the Director makes such determinations (of whether a substantial new question of patentability exists) and that the determination “by the Director . . . shall be final and non-appealable.” Only when the Director makes the determination that a substantial new question of patentabilityaffecting a claim of a patent is raised (i.e., that a substantial new question of patentability exists for a particular claim) shall an inter partes reexamination of the claim(s) in question be performed for resolution of the question (35 U.S.C. § 313). Therefore, on the other hand, when the Director makes a determination that a substantial new question of patentability affecting a particular claim is not raised, the Director does not order inter partes reexamination of the patent with respect to those claims. Under those circumstances, no reexamination is performed with respect to those proposed substantial new questions of patentability. Also, as pointed out above, the Director’s determination that no substantial new question of patentability was established for any particular claim(s) is final and non-appealable (35 U.S.C. § 312(c)).Since, under 35 U.S.C. § 312 and 35 U.S.C. § 313, reexamination of the patent claims in question cannot proceed when the Director makes a determination that a substantial new question of patentability has not been raised for those claims and that the Director’s determination is non-appealable, no final decision, whether favorable or unfavorable, can be rendered pertaining to those claims. Under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b), a third-party requester may appeal with respect to any “final decision favorable to the patentability” of disputed claims. However, as described above, if the Director makes the non-appealable determination that no substantial new question of patentability has been raised, then reexamination is not performed for those claims in question with respect to the corresponding prior art references. There cannot have been a final decision (either favorable or unfavorable) on the patentability of the claims in question under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b), the claims not having been reexamined in the first place for lack of a substantial new question of patentability. (emphasis added)The decision continues on to explain that the denial of SNQs is propoerly pursued by petition to the Director (which Belkin filed to no avail; 37 C.F.R. § 1.927). Note that had an SNQ been found but the corresponding rejections not adopted, appeal of non-adopted rejections would have been appropriate.Of course, a patent owner’s seeking to reverse an accepted SNQ in ex parte patent reexamination may pursue the matter to the BPAI

When pursuing inter partes patent reexamination, denial of a Substantial New Question of Patentability (SNQ) by the USPTO can be especially troubling to third party requesters. This is because a third party is estopped from asserting in litigation the “invalidity of any claim finally determined to be valid and patentable on any ground which the third-party requester raised or could have raised during the inter partes reexamination proceedings.” 35 U.S.C. § 315(c).

Denied SNQs raise the fear of potential district court estoppel relative to the prior art underlying the denied SNQ. For this reason, third parties will almost always dispute such denials internal to the USPTO–even where the claims of the patent remain rejected based upon other SNQs of the same request.

But, what is the appropriate vehicle for such a dispute, petition or appeal? The answer to this question will depend upon whether or not the denied SNQ pertains to a claim that is being actively reexamined on other grounds.

Continue Reading Pursuing Denied SNQs in Inter Partes Patent Reexamination

Stay of Parallel Litigation Denied Due to Lack of Estoppel?When implementing a patent reexamination strategy, a threshold determination is whether or not to initiate ex parte or inter partes patent reexamination, or both. This decision is very straight forward for older patents (i.e., those patents that did not mature from an application filed on or after November 29, 1999). This is because applications filed prior to the 1999 date are not eligible for inter partes patent reexamination.Yet, as the years progress, fewer and fewer patents are outside of the inter partes date provision. So, where both options are available, which is the better option?Like most legal inquiries, the answer is “it depends.” For those seeking a stay of a parallel litigation, the answer will vary in accordance with the practice of the presiding judge.As detailed previously, a Nevada judge found that ex parte patent reexamination pendency is controlled by the Patentee, and determined that a stay is appropriate. The judge reasoned that any potential delays in the ex parte proceeding could be controlled by the Patentee.Last week, in eComSystems Inc., v. Shared Marketing Sevices Inc., and Ace Hardware Corp (MDFL), the judge found that the potential for an ex parte patent reexamination to simplify issues for trial was limited compared to inter partes patent reexamination. The judge explained that estoppel provisions of inter partes patent reexamination would prevent a defendant from arguing the same art in the parallel litigation.Inter partes reexaminations provide a third party the right to participate in the reexamination process and, thus, have a res judicata effect on the third party requester in any subsequent or concurrent civil action. See 35 U.S.C. §§ 314-315. . . .. Ex parte reexaminations, on the other hand, do not bar the requestor from relitigating the exact same issues in district court.Accordingly, the Court does not find that judicial economy will be served by a stay because the pending ex parte reexaminations of the patents-in-suit would still leave Shared Marketing and Ace free to relitigate the exact same issues before this Court.In this case, the patents were subject to inter partes patent reexamination; yet the defendants opted for the lower risk, ex parte option. While the Order is silent as to the perceived  gamesmanship of this choice, the decision may be more about this choice then the loss of estoppel. Indeed, as pointed out by the judge, even had estoppel applied, patent reexamination will not defeat all invalidity defenses (e.g., public use, on-sale bar, inequitable conduct).This case was brought to my attention by the great Docket Navigator.

When implementing a patent reexamination strategy, a threshold determination is whether or not to initiate ex parte or inter partes patent reexamination, or both. This decision is very straight forward for older patents (i.e., those patents that did not mature from an application filed on or after November 29, 1999). This is because applications filed prior to the 1999 date are not eligible for inter partes patent reexamination.

Yet, as the years progress, fewer and fewer patents are outside of the inter partes date provision. So, where both options are available, which is the better option?

Like most legal inquiries, the answer is “it depends.” For those seeking a stay of a parallel litigation, the answer will vary in accordance with the practice of the presiding judge.…

Continue Reading Choosing Between Ex Parte & Inter Partes Patent Reexamination

Can an Ongoing Patent Reexamination be Stopped?With most patent reexaminations now being conducted concurrent to a district court or ITC proceeding, a common question of such plaintiffs is “what becomes of the patent reexamination once the litigation settles?”In the case of ex parte patent reexamination, the answer is simple, the reexamination continues unaffected. On the other hand, if the pending reexamination is an inter partes patent reexamination, the answer will depend on the nature of the settlement.In other words, inter partes patent reexamination is subject to statutory estoppel provisions not applicable to ex parte patent reexamination. Depending upon the manner in which the case settles, and whether or not the case is before the ITC, a carefully worded consent judgment can be used to trigger 35 USC § 317 (b), effectively forcing the USPTO to vacate the proceeding by operation of estoppel.35 USC § 317 (b) provides:(b) FINAL DECISION.- Once a final decision has been entered against a party in a civil action arising in whole or in part under section 1338 of title 28, that the party has not sustained its burden of proving the invalidity of any patent claim in suit or if a final decision in an inter partes reexamination proceeding instituted by a third-party requester is favorable to the patentability of any original or proposed amended or new claim of the patent, then neither that party nor its privies may thereafter request an inter partes reexamination of any such patent claim on the basis of issues which that party or its privies raised or could have raised in such civil action or inter partes reexamination proceeding, and an inter partes reexamination requested by that party or its privies on the basis of such issues may not thereafter be maintained by the Office, notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter. This subsection does not prevent the assertion of invalidity based on newly discovered prior art unavailable to the third-party requester and the Patent and Trademark Office at the time of the inter partes reexamination proceedings. (emphasis added)It is important to note that the estoppel provisions of inter partes patent reexamination do not apply to ITC proceedings, see our earlier discussion of this issue.With respect to district court proceedings, where parties agree to settle, and the defendant is also willing to accede to a consent judgment stating that they have failed to prove invalidity, such may serve as a final judgment. (once the 30 day time to appeal the consent order has passed). In considering the language of the consent order, the USPTO will look to whether or not the claims of the ongoing inter partes reexamination are the same as that at issue in the litigation. For claims of the ongoing reexamination that are not subject to the consent judgment, the reexamination would continue as estoppel would not attach for these claims. (likewise for any newly added claims) Attached is a 2009 petition decision detailing a vacatur of an inter partes patent reexamination. (here)In practice, defendants rarely agree to such a consent order since such a public humliation is not all desirable. (e.g., especially if the defendant is frequently the target of patent trolls). Likewise, as noted in the petition decision linked above, although the reexamination is vacated by the estoppel as to the particular setttling defendant, the unfinished business of the reexamination may be easily “re-started” by another competitor. Still, in settling patent disputes concurrent with inter partes patent reexamination, plaintiffs may be amenable to such a consent judgement ….for the right pri

With most patent reexaminations now being conducted concurrent to a district court or ITC proceeding, a common question of such plaintiffs is “what becomes of the patent reexamination once the litigation settles?”

In the case of ex parte patent reexamination, the answer is simple, the reexamination continues unaffected. On the other hand, if the pending reexamination is an inter partes patent reexamination, the answer will depend on the nature of the settlement.

In other words, inter partes patent reexamination is subject to statutory estoppel provisions not applicable to ex parte patent reexamination. Depending upon the manner in which the case settles, and whether or not the case is before the ITC, a carefully worded consent judgment can be used to trigger 35 USC § 317 (b), effectively forcing the USPTO to vacate the proceeding by operation of estoppel.
Continue Reading Turning Off an Inter Partes Patent Reexamination

wake_up_call_jpg2Back on September 25, 2005, Judge Farnan of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware stayed the litigation between Hasbasit Belting, Inc. v. Rexnord Industries, Inc. (Civil Action 03-185) relating to U.S. Patent 6,523,680. The stay was entered in favor of inter partes reexamination 95/000,072.

Yesterday, the rejection of issued claims 1-14 was reversed at the BPAI (decision here). The refusal to adopt a rejection of claim 6 and 13 was also affirmed. Thus, the Third Party, Rexnord Industries, may find itself on the wrong side of the estoppel equation of 35 USC 315 (c) very shortly.

More importantly, will the court recognize the significant delay to date, and the appeal reversal as justification enough to lift the stay?
Continue Reading Case Stayed 5 years in Favor of Inter Partes Patent Reexamination to Restart?

 

untitled–Part I–

Since the storied emergence of the patent troll (non-practicing entity (NPE) for those preferring the multisyllabic, PC terminology), it is not uncommon for an entire industry to find themselves on the same side of the defendant fence of a patent infringement suit. Where the targeted industry includes a mixture of small to large competitors, it is especially common for smaller targets to form temporary litigation alliances amongst themselves, and with their larger, deep pocket competitors.

These alliances are memorialized as written contracts or “joint defense agreements” (JDA). The purpose of such agreements is to provide for a structured exchange of information for mutual defense benefit, and protect this communication from discovery requests under the auspices of the joint-defense privilege.

When such agreements are in place, and inter partes reexamination is sought as a concurrent litigation strategy, a common concern is the applicability of the estoppel provision of 35 USC § 315(c) to the co-defendants as participants of the joint defense.  As explained next, it is clear that the USPTO
Continue Reading Joint Defense Agreements & Inter Partes Patent Reexamination