Patent Trial & Appeal Board

Subscribe to Patent Trial & Appeal Board via RSS
Standing Dispute Highlights 315(e)(2) Estoppel Concern

Article III standing has been a problem for certain petitioners seeking review of adverse Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) AIA trial rulings. This is because, while the AIA statutes provide that anyone other than a patent owner may challenge a patent at the PTAB, Article III standing is necessary for petitioners to appeal adverse PTAB decisions to the Federal Circuit. Phigenix, Inc. v. ImmunoGen, Inc.  Since Phigenix, there have been a number of Federal Circuit decisions exploring the degree of harm necessary to convey Article III standing in this context.

Earlier this week, the Federal Circuit analyzed “competitor harm” as a basis for Article III standing along with the potential of adverse estoppel impact of 35 U.S.C. §315(e)(2) on the petitioner.. While the competitor harm analysis may be interesting from an academic standpoint, the more meaningful discussion for practitioners is the Court’s commentary on the 315(e) estoppel impact for such petitioners. 
Continue Reading Finality Aspect of Common Law Estoppel May Not Matter for PTAB Estoppel Under 315(e)

PatentsPostGrant.Com May Webinar

The AIA represents a major shift in U.S. patent policy and its full scope and effect remain a moving target.  Opportunities and challenges are presented post-AIA in patent licensing and related agreements such as joint collaborations. New issues include prior sales under Helsinn v. Teva, forum selection clauses & the PTAB,…

Is the 315(b) Time Bar Particular to a “Patent Owner?”

Earlier this year the Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted trial in Sling TV, L.L.C. et al. v. Realtime Adaptive Streaming, LLC, IPR2018-01331, Paper 9 (PTAB January 31, 2019). In doing so it created a new exception to the 315(b) time bar. The…

Deputy Commissioner to Discuss 101 Guidelines

The USPTO is hosting a Boardside Chat webinar today from noon to 1 p.m. ET to discuss the new guidance on patent eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101. Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy Robert Bahr and Lead Judge Mike Kim will present.

The webinar is free and…

PTAB Cements Institutional Discretion

Back in January, I identified the Board’s expanding view of 314(a) discretion as the most significant development of 2018. In that earlier post, I predicted that one such 314(a)/325(d) case, NHK Spring Co., Ltd. v. Intri-Plex Techs., Inc., would be designated precedential in 2019.

Yesterday, the PTAB delivered on my prediction.
Continue Reading New PTAB Precedent: 314(a) Not Just for Follow-On Petitions

Patent Owners Largely Ignore Ex Parte Amendment Options

A few weeks back the USPTO issued a Notice Regarding Options for Amendments by Patent Owner Through Reissue or Reexamination During a Pending AIA Trial Proceeding (here). The Notice provided no new information, instead, it served to remind the public that reissue/reexamination options exist to amend claims outside of AIA trials. Given the continuous public outcry over AIA amendment difficulties, one would expect a fairly robust jump in reexam/reissue filing rates—especially as these options provide an ex parte amendment process.

However, as recent Patent Trial & Appeal PTAB statistics show, very few Patent Owners are pursuing these traditional amendment paths.
Continue Reading Amending Outside of the PTAB: Why So Few Reexams/Reissues?

Mere Existence of JDG Found to be Enough

It can be an uphill battle to secure additional discovery at the Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) given the “interests of justice” standard of IPR proceedings. For this reason, Patent Owners seeking discovery on petitioner relationships — to discover unnamed parties in RPI/privity disputes — are frequently turned away absent “smoking gun” evidence of such a relationship.

However, a recent decision of the Board appears to take a far more liberal view of multi-defendant relationships where a Joint Defense Group (JDG) is known to exist.
Continue Reading PTAB Discovery of JDG Agreements

POPR Disclaimer Dooms Infringement

Some weeks back I explained the varied uses of Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) trial evidence in district court trial records. However, it is not necessary for a trial to occur for patent challengers to create litigation value. For example, often times a petition will apply prior art that operates in a similar fashion to the accused product.  In distinguishing that art, the Patent Owner is effectively arguing against infringement.

In such cases, a failed AIA trial petition (art distinguished) can result in ultimate victory on the ligation side.
Continue Reading When Losing is Winning at the PTAB

Simultaneous/Redundant Petitions Attacking Same Claims Questioned

The Patent Trial & Appeal Board’s (PTAB) new focus on institution equities of serial petition challenges was the most significant development of 2018. Since that time the Board has expanded its equitable focus beyond follow-on petitions and similarly situated defendants to consider parallel litigation timing.

This week, the Board tackled a new consideration. That is, whether it makes sense from a fairness perspective to give an IPR petitioner 5 bites at the same apple. I have been expecting this one.
Continue Reading PTAB Pushes Back on Redundant Filings of Same Petitioner

CAFC Upholds Injunction to Shut Down PTAB

The AIA statutes provide that a person who is not the owner of a patent, can challenge the patent at the Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB). Pursuant to the bright lines drawn by the statute, the PTAB has accepted AIA challenges from non-owners where traditional defenses may have prevented such challenges in other fora. For example, while assignor estoppel might preclude a patent validity challenge in a district court, the PTAB accepts such challenges. In affirming this practice, the Federal Circuit explained that common-law doctrines are subject to abrogation of the AIA statutes.

A more recent argument has been that private agreement, such as a forum selection clause, can divest the PTAB of jurisdiction of a patent validity dispute. For its part, the PTAB has disagreed to date…..the District court on the other hand, has attempted to enjoin petitioners from continuing that the PTAB in such circumstances. Today, the Federal Circuit has backed the injunction strategy, effectively shutting down the PTAB.
Continue Reading Shutting Down the PTAB with Forum Selection Clauses