Federal Circuit Panel Finds PTAB Does Not Need to Revisit Redundant Grounds
In Harmonic, Inc. v. AVID Technology, Inc., a Federal Circuit panel affirmed the PTAB's decision in IPR2013-00252 and ratified certain aspects of the Board's handling of redundant grounds of unpatentability. In PTAB trials, such as IPRs, petitioners can present one...
PTAB Provides Guidelines on Swearing Behind References.
NHK Seating of Am., Inc. v. Lear Corp., IPR2014-01200, Final Written Decision, Paper 29 (P.T.A.B. Feb. 2, 2016) In IPR and CBM proceedings involving patents examined under pre-America Invents Act (AIA) rules, a patent owner may seek to disqualify a reference as prior...
Federal Circuit Panel Begrudgingly Upholds PTAB’s Claim Construction But Vacates Finding Of Obviousness On Other Grounds
PPC Broadband, Inc. v. Corning Optical Commc’ns RF, LLC. In PPC Broadband, Inc. v. Corning Optical Commc’ns RF, LLC, 2015-1361 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 22, 2016), PPC appealed the PTAB’s decisions in four consolidated IPRs finding that each challenged claim in three patents...
Federal Circuit Confirms PTAB Procedure While Faulting Certain Aspects Of PTAB Procedure
Nike, Inc. v. Adidas AG (Fed. Cir., Feb. 11, 2016). In Nike, Inc. v. Adidas AG, 2014-1719 (Fed. Cir., Feb. 11, 2016), Nike appealed the PTAB's decision in IPR2013-00067 to deny their Motion to Amend the claims of U.S. Patent No. 7,347,011 directed to methods for...
Motions to Disqualify Opposing Counsel in Patent Trial and Appeal Board Proceedings
Motions to disqualify opposing counsel often raise difficult issues of legal ethics. Behind any motion to disqualify, two competing interests are implicated: the client’s right to the attorney of its choice versus the need to maintain ethical standards of professional...