Join me this Tuesday, December 13, 2022, at 12 PM ET, as IPWatchdog looks toward the end of the year, This PTAB specific panel will take a look back on the major PTAB developments from 2022, the changes to the PTAB ushered in by Director Vidal, as
As I predicted some months back, the new Director has now addressed the 314(a) policies of her predecessor. Under the previous Director, Fintiv and a filing in the WDTX, or ITC was a one-two punch for plaintiffs.
No more.
Continue Reading PTAB Pulls the Rug Out From Under WDTX Plaintiffs
At the close of former USPTO Director Iancu’s tenure, he issued a memo explaining that Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA) should not be used as a basis of an AIA trial ground.
Today, new Director Vidal issued a revised memo to “provide more certainty and predictability in proceedings before the
Last week the PTAB announced a change to its internal handling of decisions. That is, while previously PTAB management reviewed certain decisions to ensure consistent treatment of relatively uncommon issues, that duty is now being passed to rank-and-file PTAB judges.
Why would anyone care about this (other than me), and why the change? Because the PTAB was plainly out-to-get innocent patent owners, that’s why!!
Patent Owners that had the option to avail themselves of the new Director Review process under former interim Director Hirshfeld have been crying foul to the Federal Circuit. Their argument being that the Arthrex holding required a Senate confirmed Director Review, and that an interim Director (promoted from within) did not meet that criteria. Argument was heard a month or so back at the Federal Circuit on this issue.
Since that time, Senate confirmed Director Vidal has finally taken the wheel. Realizing this, the gov’t now hopes to pull the plug on these appeals.
Discretionary denials of AIA trial petitions under 314(a) have fallen significantly over the past few months. But, Fintiv practices are not quite dead yet. As noted by IPWatchdog last week, although less frequent, occasional denials still occur.
Certainly the WDTX is no longer the silver bullet to the PTAB. That is, recent congressional inquiry asserting that its trail dates are suspect, has highlighted that the agency should expect to reach a decision before the Court. Yet, the agency should not expect petitioners to make that point in their filings.
Not much exciting going on at the PTAB until the new Director arrives in a few weeks. But, there was at least one new POP decision that is worth mentioning.
In Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. v. Monument Peak Ventures, LLC the Precedential Opinion Panel (POP) held that payment for an AIA trial petition is effective when received by the Treasury. I know, I know…try to contain your excitement.
Continue Reading PTAB Finds Wire Payment Effective When Received by Treasury
Tomorrow morning, the Senate Judiciary will pass the nominations of Leonard P. Stark to be United States Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit, and Katherine Vidal to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property & Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, to the
The Senate Judiciary vetted USPTO Director Nominee Kathy Vidal earlier this month. Not surprisingly, the hearing was fairly uneventful (even for uber-geeks, like myself). With a confirmation vote looming, some final written materials have been submitted by Ms. Vidal that are similarly generic in espousing any particular viewpoint that could be labeled as “pro-patent” or “anti-patent.” That said, reading the tea-leaves, there are some PTAB developments that seem inevitable for 2022 given the current landscape.
Continue Reading Expect Slight PTAB Adjustments From the New Director in 2022
ACI’s inaugural “PTAB Briefing” arrives in two weeks. The program will provide an in depth-discussions and year-end analysis of the most significant developments impacting PTAB practice as well as future forecasts for 2022.
I will be speaking on the panel entitled: Think Tank: Recent Developments & the Future Direction of