In Pfizer Inc., v. Sanofi Pasteur Inc., SK Chems Co. Ltd., v. Vidal, 2019-1871 (March 5, 2024), the Federal Circuit affirmed the Board’s conclusions that claims 1–45 of U.S. Patent No. 9,492,559 were unpatentable due to...more
The NPRM proposals align with interim guidance on requesting director review for key AIA trial decisions. Following the Arthrex v. Smith & Nephew ruling, director review by the USPTO Director remains crucial for addressing...more
On May 17, 2024, an Appeals Review Panel (ARP) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) released its decision in Ex parte Chamberlain (referred to in Federal Circuit proceedings as In re Xencor;...more
On April 30, the USPTO announced a Request for Comments (RFC) seeking public feedback on how AI could affect USPTO evaluations on patentability, including what qualifies as prior art and the assessment of the level of...more
On April 16, 2024, the PTAB proposed new rules (“proposed rules”) governing the Director Review process, which would remain consistent with the Interim review process currently in place, and codify those procedures....more
On April 16, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding Director Review of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decisions....more
On January 4, the USPTO announced the appointment of new leaders for the agency’s policy and communications teams. Sharon Israel will serve as the Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs, and Jack...more
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) recently published a revised PTAB Oral Hearing Guide (August 2023) updating prior guidance on hearings. The revised Guide includes changes to: 1. Remote participation in PTAB...more
The availability of post-grant proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has changed the face of patent litigation. This periodic digest is designed to keep you up-to-date by highlighting interesting PTAB,...more
As of July 24, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) revised the interim Director Review process and replaced the Precedential Opinion Panel (POP) with the Appeals Review Panel process, which will review...more
The PTAB recently issued back-to-back Fintiv denials. The first denial issued on May 4, 2023. Read here about Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. v. California Institute of Tech., No. IPR2023-00130, Paper 10 (P.T.A.B. May 4,...more
USPTO Director Considers Changes to Director Review Process - Recently, USPTO Director Kathi Vidal stated that she is rethinking the Director Review process and is considering updating the current guidance on Director...more
During the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) Boardside Chat on July 7, 2022, discussion focused on Director Katherine Vidal’s interim guidance on discretionary denials under the Board’s precedential Apple v. Fintiv...more
In a previous post from July 2021, we discussed the interim process for Director review in PTAB proceedings post-Arthrex. Since then, only three out of over 175 requests for Director review of a Final Written Decision have...more
On May 26, 2022, the Patent Office issued its “Interim Process for PTAB Decision Circulation And Internal PTAB Review”. The Office issued the Process to explain its new procedures for circulating pre-issuance decisions, which...more
On June 29th, the PTO issued an initial protocol for requesting Director review of a PTAB Final Written Decision according to the Supreme Court’s Arthrex decision. This Arthrex protocol is similar to the current procedure...more
The America Invents Act (AIA) ushered in an era of Patent Office trials to adjudicate the validity of issued patents. The AIA, however, created an additional, lesser used, avenue to address patent validity. This procedure is...more
The Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution1 provides that “principal officers” of the United States must be appointed by the President upon the advice and consent of the Senate. “Inferior officers,” on the other hand,...more
Amazon.com, Inc. and Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (“Amazon”) filed a petition for inter partes review challenging the validity of AC Technologies S.A.’s (“AC”) U.S. Patent No. 7,904,680. See IPR2015-01802. Amazon asserted...more
China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) recently circulated its Draft “Provisions on Several Issues concerning the Adjudication of Administrative Cases on Granting and Affirming Patent Rights (I)”...more