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...
PTAB Statistics Through Four Months of 2020
By Matt Johnson – The institution rate for post-grant challenges in current FY 2020 (Oct. 1, 2019 through January 31, 2020) stands at 56% compared to 63% in the previous fiscal year. While a relatively small sample size (204 instituted, 161 denied), this is a number...
PTAB Rules Certificate of Correction is Not Retroactive in IPR
By Kenny Luchesi - On remand from the Federal Circuit, the PTAB ruled that a patentee’s certificate of correction—issued after the Board invalidated the claims in a final written decision—could not be applied retroactively. After the IPR petition was filed, the...
Same or Similar Art Mutes IPR Petition on Medical Device Patent
By Dave Cochran - 35 U.S.C. § 325(d) gives the PTAB discretion to deny a petition for inter partes review when the same or substantially the same prior art or arguments were previously before the Office – including during original examination, reexamination, or a...