PTAB Grants Rare Request For Live Witness Testimony In IPR
By John Marlott - While PTAB proceedings are ordinarily decided “on the papers,” in certain rare cases the Board will permit live witness testimony at the oral hearing. The Board’s precedential decision in K-40 v. Escort explains that “[t]he Board does not envision...
PTAB Reconciles Its Prior §101 Ruling With CBM Institution
By Morgan Restaino and Tim Heverin Following guidance from the Federal Circuit, the PTAB has vacated a previous Board decision granting Covered Business Method review in Apple, Inc. v. Universal Secure Registry LLC (P.T.A.B. Dec. 3, 2018). The PTAB’s decision to...
Fed. Cir. Dissent: Opening Brief Lacking Appointments Clause Mention Still Eligible for Remand
By Emma Murray and Tim Heverin Last week, the Federal Circuit denied a motion to vacate and remand an IPR decision under Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc. Issued on October 31, Arthrex held that the method for appointing PTAB Administrative Patent Judges...
Federal Circuit Three Times More Likely to Rule 36 Patent Owner-Appellants
By Austin Ball and Carl Kukkonen When patent owners appeal PTAB decisions to the Federal Circuit, 67% of subsequent opinions are one-line Federal Circuit Rule 36 (“Rule 36”) summary affirmance orders, but when petitioners appeal, that number is a mere 18%. Chestnut...
Notes from House Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on Arthrex
By Marlee Hartenstein and Matt Johnson On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet conducted a hearing to discuss recent court decisions, namely the Federal Circuit’s decision in Arthrex. Previously...