We recently posted about the panel opinion in Amazon.com v. Uniloc, a final written decision demonstrating how the PTAB has given heightened scrutiny to proposed substitute amended claims in an IPR. In addition to assessing...more
An IPR of issued patent claims is statutorily limited to prior art challenges based on patents and printed publications under § 102 (novelty) or § 103 (obviousness). The PTAB may not institute an IPR of existing patent claims...more
2/11/2019
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Appeals ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Motion to Amend ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Section 101 ,
Section 102 ,
Section 103 ,
Section 112
Estimates are that roughly 80% of IPRs involve a challenge to a patent being asserted against the petitioner in a district court litigation. Typically, in those IPRs, if the litigation-defendant-petitioner loses at the PTAB,...more
The PTAB may institute IPR proceedings only on the basis of certain prior art that is potentially invalidating under § 102 (novelty) or § 103 (obviousness). The PTAB may not institute IPR on any other unpatentability grounds,...more
The definiteness requirement for patent claims is set forth in Section 112(b), mandating that a patent specification conclude with one or more claims “particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming subject matter which the...more
9/11/2018
/ §315(e) ,
Administrative Procedure ,
Claim Construction ,
Estoppel ,
Indefiniteness ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Means-Plus-Function ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Section 112 ,
USPTO
A Covered Business Method (“CBM”) patent review permits a petitioner to challenge a patent having claims “used in the practice, administration, or management of a financial product or service,” and that do not claim a...more
On April 24, 2018, in SAS Institute Inc. v. Iancu, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the way that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board confronts inter partes reviews under the America Invents Act. The...more
6/18/2018
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
America Invents Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Oil States Energy Services v Greene's Energy Group ,
Patent Ownership ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
SAS Institute Inc. v Iancu ,
SCOTUS
In an effort to create greater predictability for patent litigation in the Northern District of Illinois, the District enacted Local Patent Rules ("LPR") effective as of October 1, 2009. This annotated version of the LPRs...more
The AIA prohibits institution of a post-grant proceeding when the petitioner previously “filed a civil action challenging the validity of a claim of the patent.” 35 U.S.C. § 315(a)(1). PGR petitions (including CBM petitions)...more
4/11/2018
/ America Invents Act ,
Counterclaims ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent Validity ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Venue
There is no doubt that “the potential for estoppel is one of the important considerations for defendants in deciding whether or not to file an [inter partes review (“IPR”)] petition.” Shaw Indus. Grp., Inc. v. Automated Creel...more
The AIA expressly anticipates and permits a patent owner and a petitioner to reach a settlement during the pendency of a post-grant proceeding. For IPRs, 35 U.S.C. § 317(a) is entitled “Settlement” and provides, in pertinent...more
In yesterday’s en banc decision in Wi-Fi One v. Broadcom Corp., Nos. 15-1944, -1945 & -1946 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 8, 2018), the en banc Federal Circuit addressed issues regarding judicial review of the PTAB’s time-bar...more
1/10/2018
/ § 315(b) ,
America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
En Banc Review ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Judicial Review ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
USPTO
In a closely followed case before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of SAS Institute Inc., a cross-office, cross-practice Jones Day team has challenged the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) practice to elect to institute...more
Serial IPR or CBM petitions challenging the same patent claims have been a recurring issue for the PTAB. On October 18, 2017, the PTAB designated as precedential a portion of a decision by an expanded panel that addressed...more
In yesterday’s decision in Aqua Products, Inc. v. Matal, No. 15-1177 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 4, 2017) (en banc), the Federal Circuit issued five opinions, spanning 148 pages, addressing the question of who bears the burden of proving...more
10/6/2017
/ Appeals ,
Burden of Persuasion ,
Claim Amendments ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Motion to Amend ,
Patent Ownership ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent Validity ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
USPTO
...In a recent (and rare) precedential decision, the Board reaffirmed that the Supreme Court’s decision in Nautilus does not change “the USPTO’s long-standing approach to indefiniteness” in the context of pre-issuance...more
9/2/2017
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Appeals ,
Claim Construction ,
Indefiniteness ,
Nautilus Inc. v. Biosig Instruments ,
Patent Examinations ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Section 112 ,
Standard of Review ,
USPTO
Last year, the Federal Circuit vacated the Board’s original decision denying the patent owner’s motion to amend two claims in IPR2014-00090, holding that the Board erred by “insist[ing] that the patent owner discuss whether...more
8/2/2017
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Appeals ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Motion to Amend ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Section 101 ,
Section 102 ,
Section 103 ,
Section 112
By rule, a petitioner may request permission from the Board to submit supplemental information in an IPR proceeding if: (1) the request is filed within one month of the Board’s institution decision, and (2) the supplemental...more
6/21/2017
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Inadmissible Evidence ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Newly Discovered Evidence ,
Novo Nordisk ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Petition for Review ,
Prior Art ,
Supplemental Information
The en banc Federal Circuit is currently considering whether the PTAB’s findings regarding 35 U.S.C. § 315(b)’s one year bar on IPR petitions can be reviewed on appeal. In Wi-Fi One v. Broadcom Corp, the en banc Court is set...more
5/12/2017
/ § 315(b) ,
Appeals ,
Cuozzo Speed Technologies v Lee ,
En Banc Review ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Judicial Review ,
Limitation Periods ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents
As we have previously discussed on this blog, when considering an issue of patentability such as definiteness under section 112, the PTAB and a district court may properly reach opposite conclusions. In Tinnus Enterprises LLC...more
As we reported earlier, the Federal Circuit decided in January 2017 to rehear en banc whether the PTAB’s findings regarding 35 U.S.C. § 315(b)’s one year bar can be reviewed on appeal. Wi-Fi One v. Broadcom Corp. The...more
4/8/2017
/ En Banc Review ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Judicial Review ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Reviewability Determinations ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
USPTO