PTAB Oral Argument Procedures in view of COVID-19
By Matt Johnson - On March 13th, the PTAB issued the following notice: Until further notice, examiner and examining attorney interviews, Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) oral hearings, and other similar in-person...
Don’t Wait Too Late to Assert the § 315(b) Time-Bar
By Cathy Chin Eng and Matt Johnson - In two related decisions, the Federal Circuit held that the Patent Owner, Acoustic Technology, Inc. (“Acoustic”) waived its time-bar challenges under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b) (“Section 315(b)”) by failing to assert them in the IPR...
PTAB Bar Association Postpones Annual Conference
On Monday, the PTAB Bar Association postponed its 2020 annual conference scheduled for this week, stating: The PTAB Bar Association has made the difficult decision to postpone this week’s conference in light of the increasing spread of COVID-19 and the uncertainty...
Return to Sender: PTAB Denies Government Contractor IPRs
By Albert Liou and Chris Buxton - After the Supreme Court’s 2019 decision in Return Mail, Inc. v. United States Postal Service, 139 S. Ct. 1853 (2019), held that federal agencies are not “persons” eligible to challenge a patent at the PTAB, the government was recently...
FULL COURT PRESS: Arthrex Reconsideration Efforts Continue
By Emily Tait and Nate Andrews - The Federal Circuit continues to be flooded with petitions to revisit its panel decision in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., 941 F.3d 1320, No. 2018-2140 (Fed. Cir. 2019). As previously discussed, all three parties in...