PTAB Holds Mock Oral Arguments for LEAP Attorneys
By Robert M. Breetz, Stephanie M. Brooker, and Matt Johnson - Holding its first mock oral arguments, the PTAB provided LEAP eligible participants with a unique opportunity to argue in front of PTAB judges. On August 7, 2020, mock oral PTAB hearings were held...
Balance is Key in Design Patent Claim Drafting
By Clarissa Sullivan and John Evans The Patent Trial and Appeal Board recently designated as informative its decision instituting post-grant review and addressing the issues of design patent functionality in Sattler Tech Corp. v. Humancentric Ventures, LLC. No....
PTAB Designates Fintive Factor Decisions Informative
In its precedential decision in Apple Inc. v. Fintiv, Inc., IPR 2020-00019, paper 11 (PTAB Mar. 20, 2020), the PTAB set forth a six factor “holistic” test for balancing considerations of system efficiency, fairness, and patent quality when a patent owner raises an...
Precedential: PTAB Will Rarely Identify MTA Unpatentability Grounds
By Tom Ritchie - The PTAB may sua sponte raise unpatentability grounds based upon the prior art of record when reviewing a motion to amend. Nike, Inc. v. Adidas AG, 955 F.3d 45, 51 (Fed. Cir. 2020). It is now clear, however, that the PTAB will do so only in “certain...
PTAB Statistics Through Three-Fourths of FY 2020
By Matt Johnson – The institution rate for post-grant challenges in current FY 2020 (Oct. 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020) stands at 56% (478 instituted, 376 denied) compared to 63% in the previous fiscal year. This lower institution rate compared to prior years, and...