A few months ago, in BTG International Ltd. v. Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC, the Federal Circuit invited the Patent Office’s views on the scope of the petitioner estoppel under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2). We noted then that this is an estoppel a district court may apply, but the Patent Office may not. In response to the court’s invitation, the Patent Office said that a court may apply this statutory estoppel not only to petitioners who lose an IPR, but also to those who prevail. The Office conceded that estopping prevailing IPR petitioners “leads to the counterintuitive result that a district court would not be able to consider invalidity arguments that the Board found persuasive.” But the Office said that this will have no practical effect in most cases.
Continue Reading Estoppel Remains Malleable

In an unusual fact situation, Judge Andrews of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware held that estoppel stemming from a Final Written Decision of the PTAB could arise even if issued after trial where the court has not yet entered final judgment on the relevant ground. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. v. Par Pharmaceutical Inc., Case No. 14cv1289 (D. Del. April 11, 2019).
Continue Reading Estoppel May Arise After Trial

The PTAB Bar Association’s Annual Conference in March included a panel of Administrative Patent Judges who offered commentary on best practices in ex parte appeals from original examination and reexaminations. The participating APJs were Lead Administrative Patent Judge Rae Lynn Guest and Administrative Patent Judge James T. Moore.
Continue Reading PTAB Judges Weigh in on Best Practices for Ex parte Appeals

The nature of any inter partes dispute apparently is to engage in even a seemingly mundane dispute. After all, that’s the dispute that may lead you to success, right? Perhaps then there is nothing surprising in an April 3, 2019, Patent Trial and Appeal Board order concerned about whether a book qualifies as prior art. That order, issued by the Board’s new “Precedential Opinion Panel,” grants an aggrieved petitioner’s request for rehearing of an earlier Board decision refusing to institute inter partes review because the petitioner apparently did not establish a book bearing a 1990 (or 1991) copyright date was publicly available before the 1995 date on which the application for the subject patent was filed. Hulu, LLC v. Sound View Innovations, LLC, Case IPR2018-01039 (Apr. 1, 2019) (order).
Continue Reading Is that Prior Art?

In AC Technologies S.A. v. Amazon.com, the Federal Circuit confirmed the PTO’s interpretation of SAS Institute, Inc. v. Iancu, 138 S.Ct. 1348, 1355 (2018) (discussed in greater detail here) requiring that the PTAB address each ground of invalidity raised in an instituted petition in its final written decision. 912 F.3d 1358 (Fed. Cir. 2019).
Continue Reading PTAB Must Consider All Grounds Raised in an Instituted Petition

Incorporation by reference is not sufficient to satisfy specific reference to each prior-filed patent application to be entitled to an earlier priority date (Droplets, Inc. v. E*Trade Bank (887 F.3d 1309 (2018)). This appeal to the Federal Circuit stems from a dispute between Droplets, Inc. and E*TRADE Bank, over a patent (U.S. Patent No. 8,402,115 (“the ’115 Patent”)) owned by Droplets. At issue is the effective filing date of Droplets’ ‘115 patent.
Continue Reading Have You Included Specific Reference to Every Document in Your Priority Claim?

For AIA trials instituted on or after March 15, 2019, the patent owner may opt-in to a pilot program the Patent Office implemented for motion to amend (“MTA”) practice and procedures in the PTAB’s administration of these trials. Today’s Federal Register (link) includes the Patent Office’s explanation of the program, which it proposed in October 2018. The Office’s explanation also includes its reply to comments the public offered in response to the proposal. Generally, the comments supported the proposed program, but expressed concerns over the tight timelines proposed. The implemented program appears to address those concerns.
Continue Reading Patent Office Announces New Amendments Procedure for AIA Trials

Addressing the PTAB Bar Association Conference in its opening session, newly appointed Chief Judge Scott Boalick explained that his goal as Chief Judge is to bring stability to the board and increase predictability. He wants all parties coming to the Board to feel that they have gotten a fair shake and that the procedures are fair.
Continue Reading Newly Appointed Chief Judge Scott Boalick Addresses PTAB Bar Association

PTABWatch Takeaway: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)’s 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance provides a useful, and effective, tool for demonstrating patent eligibility of software-related inventions. While the 2019 Guidance acts as persuasive authority only, the PTAB has relied on the 2019 Guidance as a rubric in numerous cases to analyze, and find patent eligible, software-related inventions. Practitioners and inventors seeking to overcome, or avoid, patent eligibility issues under Section 101 would do well to draft or amend claims in view of the 2019 Guidance.
Continue Reading How the PTAB Reviews Software Inventions Under the 2019 Revised Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance

Resources & Info

Arthrex and the Supreme Court Resource Center

In United States v. Arthrex, Inc., the Supreme Court has heard whether 125+ PTAB decisions rendered through October 2019 must be remanded for new decisions. Read about how that issue developed through our post.

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Our Team

PTABWatch, provided by Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP, analyzes and reports recent developments concerning Post-Grant Proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), including Inter Partes Review (IPR), Post Grant Review (PGR), and Covered Business Method (CBM) proceedings.