Motion to Amend Pilot Program Extended
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced plans for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to extend the Motion to Amend (MTA) pilot program. This program provides additional options for a patent owner who files an MTA in a trial proceeding...
CAFC: Nearly Identical Reference is Prior Art
By Albert Liou - In the recent precedential Federal Circuit decision Valve Corporation v. Ironburg Inventions Ltd., No. 2020-1315, 2020-1315, 2020-1379, 2021 WL 3628664 (Fed. Cir. August 17, 2021), the Federal Circuit ruled on an issue that is not often...
Didn’t Cut the Mustard: PTAB Finds Claims Lacked Written Description and Enablement
By Miguel Alvarez* and Sarah Geers - A recent post-grant review decision once again reminds patentees of the increasing scrutiny that claims are facing under the written description and enablement requirements under 35 U.S.C. § 112 (a). In this case, Commonwealth...
No Soup for You! Partial Display Design Patent Found Obvious
By Kerry Barrett and John Evans - As with utility patents, a patentee can counter obviousness of a patented design by producing objective evidence that the design was non-obvious, like commercial success, copying, etc. But to be persuasive, a nexus must exist between...
PGR Eligibility: An Uphill Climb For Transition Patents
By Sue Gerber and Matt Johnson - A patent is eligible for post-grant review (“PGR”) only if the patent is subject to the first-inventor-to-file provisions of the AIA. In Tricam Indus., Inc. v. Little Giant Ladder Sys., LLC, the PTAB explained that determining whether...