In Arthrex v. Smith & Nephew, the Supreme Court determined: (i) whether the authority of Administrative Patent Judges (APJs) to issue decisions on behalf of the Executive Branch is consistent with the Appointments Clause of...more
As discussed here, the Justices asked many questions in the oral argument in Arthrex this week on both questions: (1) whether there was an Appointments Clause defect and (2) if so, whether the Federal Circuit properly cured...more
3/4/2021
/ Administrative Patent Judges ,
Appointments Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Inferior Officers ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Principle Officers ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard of Review ,
United States v Arthrex Inc ,
USPTO
Today, the Supreme Court granted petitions for a writ of certiorari to review the Federal Circuit’s decision in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc. Last Halloween, a Federal Circuit panel held in Arthrex that the way the...more
Today, the Supreme Court granted petitions for a writ of certiorari to review the Federal Circuit's decision in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., in which the court of appeals held how administrative patent judges were...more
Last week, in Uniloc 2017 LLC v. Hulu, LLC, the Federal Circuit ruled that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board may consider patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 for substitute claims. The appeal raises issues of finality...more
7/27/2020
/ Administrative Patent Judges ,
America Invents Act ,
Appellate Courts ,
Dismissals ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
En Banc Review ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Hulu ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Mootness ,
Motion to Amend ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Reviewability Determinations ,
Scope of the Claim ,
Section 101 ,
Section 102 ,
Section 103 ,
Sua Sponte ,
Substitute Claims
Federal Circuit Extends Arthrex to Patent Prosecution -
This week, the Federal Circuit extended its holding in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., that administrative patent judges ("APJs") were improperly appointed in...more
Last fall, the Federal Circuit held in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc. that the way the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) had appointed administrative patent judges (“APJs”) to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board...more
3/24/2020
/ Administrative Patent Judges ,
America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Denial of Rehearing ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Officers of the United States ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Removal For-Cause ,
Severability Doctrine ,
USPTO