APA Action & Mandamus Petition Simultaneously Challenge PTAB’s NHK/Fintiv Framework

Back in June, I predicted that an APA action against the USPTO and/or a mandamus petition to the Federal Circuit was inevitable given the PTAB’s practice of denying IPR petitions in favor of competing district court trial dates. Well…here we are.

Yesterday,  Director Iancu was sued by a group of large tech companies for allegedly violating the APA by denying IPR petitions on the basis of a competing trial date, and late last week, one of the same companies also filed a mandamus petition seeking to force the agency to consider the merits of a petition denied as a matter of discretion even though it was filed some seven months before the 315(b) deadline.

Never a dull moment at the PTAB.
Continue Reading USPTO Sued Over Discretionary Denials