Federal Circuit Grants Arthrex Relief Despite Waiver Arguments
By Mike Lavine and Matt Johnson - On March 30, 2020, the Federal Circuit relied on Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., 941 F.3d 1320 (Fed. Cir. 2019) to vacate and remand several related PTAB decisions, including in proceedings where the patent owner did not...
Judges Removable-At-Will is Better than No PTAB At All
By Alex Li and Matt Johnson - On March 23, 2020, the Federal Circuit issued a per curiam order denying rehearing and rehearing en banc in Arthrex. See Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., No. 18-2140, Order Denying Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc, Dkt. 115. We...
Timing Of Arthrex Remands Remains Fuzzy
By Steph Brooker and Matt Johnson - The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) has denied the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) unopposed motion to stay its mandate issued in Arthrex. The USPTO filed its motion seeking a 90 day stay on...
Decision Kicking PUMA’s Petition Against Nike Designated Informative
By John Kinton and Amanda Leckman - As we noted here, the PTAB recently designated two 35 U.S.C. § 325(d) cases precedential and one informative. Here is an in depth review of the informative decision. On October 31, 2019, the PTAB denied PUMA North America, Inc....
District Court Awards Fees After PTAB Cancels Claims
By Alex Li and Matt Johnson - Patent litigation can be quite costly to defend against, that’s no secret. But when can a prevailing defendant recover its attorneys’ fees from the plaintiff, patent holder, and under what circumstances? Under the “American Rule,” each...