The inter partes review estoppel provision (35 U.S.C. § 315(e)) says that a petitioner (or real party in interest) in an IPR that results in a final written decision on a patent claim may not assert validity in a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office proceeding, a civil action, or before the U.S. International Trade Commission with respect to that claim “on any ground that the petitioner raised or reasonably could have raised during the inter partes review.”

Originally published in Law360 - September 23, 2016.