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Abusive Reexam Relief

Late last month, in In re Vivint, Inc., the Federal Circuit tackled the question of whether a post-issuance review proceeding (in this case, ex parte reexamination (“EPR”)) was available to a challenger that repeatedly filed another post-issuance review proceeding (in this case, inter partes review (“IPR”)) to forward the very same argument. The court held that, while the EPR request had shown substantial new questions of patentability, “the Patent Office abused its discretion and acted arbitrarily and capriciously under § 325(d).” As such the court vacated the decision and remanded to the Patent Office (“PTO”) with instructions to dismiss.

But, don’t expect this decision to be much more than a corner case.
Continue Reading Reexam After Failed IPR?

Webinars This Week on Post-Grant Patent Practice

A few interesting programs this week for those interested in a refresher on patent reexamination, or looking toward 2021 PTAB possibilities.

First, tomorrow (Tuesday) brings one of my favorite CLE programs of the year.   IAM’s IP 2020 (formerly Patent Law & Policy) kicks off tomorrow and runs through…

Thursday Webinar Addresses Parallel Post-Grant Proceedings

This Thursday, April 25th, from noon to 1 p.m. ET, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) will host a Boardside Chat webinar presenting information on the interplay of AIA trial proceedings under the America Invents Act (AIA), reissue applications, and reexamination proceedings.…

CRU Faster Than Before AIA, Provides Options for Patent Owners

Patent reexamination filings have fallen 86% since 2012.  With the elimination of the popular inter partes patent reexamination option in 2012, an overall decrease was certainly expected.  However, ex parte reexamination filings continue to drop every year.  Only 191 ex parte reexamination requests were filed in 2017.  This was the lowest number of ex parte reexamination filings since the mid-1990s.  While an ex parte patent challenge is far less appealing to a patent challenger than a contested proceeding (AIA trial proceeding), and this factor has undoubtedly contributed to the decreasing numbers, patent reexamination and other post-grant proceedings of the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) still provide unique rehabilitation opportunities for patent owners.Continue Reading Thwart PTAB Attacks With These USPTO Post-Grant Options