BREAKING: Arthrex Rehearing Denied
By John Evans - On Monday, the Federal Circuit issued a per curiam order denying en banc rehearing that had been requested by all three of the parties to the Arthrex decision, where the Federal Circuit found that PTAB ALJs had been unconstitutional appointments. The...
The Federal Circuit Closes The (Face)Book On “Same-Party” IPR Joinder
By Dave Maiorana - The Federal Circuit has definitively ruled on the PTAB’s practice of allowing so-called “same-party” IPR joinder. The court held that an IPR petitioner cannot join itself as a party to an existing IPR and cannot add new arguments or issues from a...
PTAB Focuses on IPR Control to Determine RPI
By Marc Blackman - In three related final written decisions, the PTAB ruled that Bayer Healthcare (“Bayer”) was not a real party in interest (“RPI”) to IPR petitions filed by NOF Corporation, even though Bayer had a business relationship with NOF and stood to benefit...
Wave Goodbye to Waiver: Rehearing Petitions Rejected in Polaris
By Nate Andrews and Matt Johnson - The full Federal Circuit denied rehearing in Polaris. Polaris Innovations Ltd. v. Kingston Technology Company, No. 2018-1831. As previously discussed, both the U.S. government and Polaris requested rehearing after the court applied...
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...