Patent Trial & Appeal Board

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Patentee Estoppel Can Shut Down Related Prosecution

Patent prosecutors might consider PTAB estoppel a pure post-grant concern. That is, a litigation issue restricted to district courts after a failed PTAB challenge, or an issue raised in the context of a second-bite at the PTAB apple. But, PTAB estoppel can effect both failed petitioners and unsuccessful patent owners. Patent owner estoppel, often overlooked, is only now beginning to impact patent prosecution.

Prosecutors beware.
Continue Reading The PTAB Estoppel Keeping Patent Prosecutors Awake at Night

WiFi One Opens the Door to Reconsideration of Well-Established PTAB Precedent

The Federal Circuit’s softening of the appeal bar (35 U.S.C. § 314(d)) in WiFi One will now allow the Court to consider matters unrelated to the merits of an institution decision, and in some cases, well-established precedent of the Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB).

For example, in Oracle Corp. v. Click-to-Call Techs. LP Case IPR2013-00312, Paper 26 (Oct. 30, 2013), Section (III.A) was designated precedential.  This section explains that the dismissal of a lawsuit “without prejudice” nullifies the service of the complaint relative to 35 U.S.C. § 315(b).  The Federal Circuit announced last Friday that it can now consider this precedent, post WiFi One.Continue Reading CAFC to Consider Popular IPR Time Bar Exception

January Webinar to Focus on PTAB Appeals to the CAFC

This month’s edition of the PatentsPostGrant.com free webinar series will be held on Wednesday January 31st @ 2PM (EST). The January Webinar is entitled: Building Winning PTAB Appeals to the Federal Circuit. With the Federal Circuit’s affirmance rate for PTAB appeals hovering at around…

WiFi One Touchstone: Closely Related to Patentability Determination?

As I predicted would happen last Spring, the Court held today in Wi-Fi One v. Broadcom (here) that the appeal bar is limited to Director determinations closely related to the preliminary patentability determination, or the exercise of discretion not to institute. As such, questions that may be fully and finally decided before a trial on the merits, such as 315(b), are no longer barred from appeal.
Continue Reading CAFC Softens PTAB Appeal Bar

Chief to Discuss Current PTAB Developments

The USPTO’s Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) is holding a “Chat with the Chief” webinar tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 19 from noon to 1 p.m. ET.  The free webinar will explore recent developments in PTAB practice.  Chief Judge David Ruschke will discuss recent agency guidance such as Aqua Product…

AIPLA Webinar Today 12:30-2PM (EST)

For those needing those pesky CLE ethics credits before year end, consider today’s AIPLA webinar Ethics Issues in PTAB Proceedings. (register here)  – 1.5 Ethics credits are offered.

Course Description: AIA trial proceedings present heightened risks for practitioners unaccustomed to participating in a live, patent prosecution history. Unlike…

The Tension Between Judicial Independence & Agency Consistency

As I have pointed out previously, the Board struggles to issue precedential decisions. This is because the Board (now approaching 300 judges) must reach a “sufficient majority” consensus on an issue before designating it precedential. As a practical matter, this outdated process excludes all but the most straight forward questions of law from receiving enough “yes” votes to be designated precedential.

To be sure, such disparity in opinion across a large number of judges is not surprising on close questions of law. Reasonable minds differ. Which is why it is somewhat surprising that 98% of PTAB merit-based decisions are unanimous.
Continue Reading Judicial Independence & The PTAB

I love to create bokeh from colorful things. This was taken from some colorful glasses.
Shabu Anower, Unsplash

Best Practices for Presenting Prior Art

Join the PTAB for the final Boardside Chat webinar of 2017 today, Dec. 7 from noon-1 p.m. ET. The chat will discuss “Best Practices for Presenting Prior Art References and Proving a Document is a Printed Publication.”

PTAB Judges Lora Green and Brian McNamara will present and…

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Functional Claiming & PTAB Ethics in December

For those seeking some CLE before the holiday break, there are some interesting webinars on the immediate horizon.

Today, on the IPO Chat Channel, Functional Claiming After Mastermine Software v. Microsoft.  Functional claiming and definiteness standards will be analyzed in view of recent Federal Circuit decisions. (register…