Physical Products Cannot Form Basis of an IPR
By Carl Kukkonen - On May 1, 2025, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) denied institution of inter partes review (IPR) of U.S. Patent No. 11,140,841 in the case of Aardevo North America, LLC v. Agventure B.V. The patent in question, owned by Agventure, covers...
Acting Director Denies IPR Institution Based on “Settled Expectations”
By Anthony Insogna, Sarah Geers, Matt Hertko, Andrea Jeffries, Gasper LaRosa, Jason Winchester, and Matt Johnson - The Situation: Under a new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") policy issued in March 2025, pre-institution inter partes review ("IPR")...
Delegated Rehearing Panel Sends Lifeline to Mercedes-Benz
By Ned LaDuca,* Matt Modderman, Matt Johnson - A Delegated Rehearing Panel (“DRP”) recently modified the PTAB’s construction of the claim term “workload” and remanded, giving Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (“Petitioner”) another opportunity to challenge a processor patent....
Federal Circuit: RPI Arguments Must First Be Raised at the PTAB
By Em Towers and Tom Ritchie - Apple Inc., et. al v. Gesture Technology Partners, LLC (March 4, 2025) (Moore (Chief Judge), Prost and Stoll) (on appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board) [WAIVER; OBVIOUSNESS] The Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB’s Final Written...
PTAB Clarifies Interim Workload Management Process
By Levent Herguner, Aeden Bempong,* and Matt Johnson - On April 17, 2025, following Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart’s memorandum announcing a new interim process to manage the workload of all PTAB judges, the USPTO held a Boardside Chat outlining the new...