Tag Archives: Broadest Reasonable Construction

Mine Your Patent Application and You Might Find a Licensee

By Sandip H. Patel on Posted in Appeals, Claim Construction, Interferences, Section 112
A patent interference is an adversarial proceeding where each party is trying deprive its opponent of a patent on an invention that that the Patent Office has already decided is patentable. Long after the AIA became effective to phase out interferences, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board continues to declare and administer them where at … Continue Reading

Federal Circuit Puts Nail in Coffin For Petitioner’s Case Challenging Casket Patent

By Marshall Gerstein on Posted in Claim Construction, Inter Partes Review, Sections 102/103
In Matthews International Corporation v. Vandor Corporation, No. 2017-1889 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 27, 2018) (non-precedential), the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB’s final written decision to uphold the claims of Vandor’s patent that Matthews challenged in inter partes review. The claims at issue “are directed to ‘a casket arrangement’ made of pliable material, such as cardboard,” … Continue Reading

Federal Circuit Reverses, i.e. Overturns, Board’s Anticipation Decision Due to Overbroad Claim Construction

By Kate Nuehring Su on Posted in Appeals, Inter Partes Review, IPR, Sections 102/103
In TF3 Ltd. v. Tre Milano, LLC, Appeal 2016-2285 (Fed. Cir. July 13, 2018), the Federal Circuit reversed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s final written decision canceling claims directed to a hair styling device as anticipated by prior art.  The court concluded that the Board improperly broadened two claim terms beyond the description in … Continue Reading

Patent Office Proposes to Jettison BRI in AIA Trials

By Sandip H. Patel on Posted in Covered Business Method, Inter Partes Review, Post Grant Review, Trial Procedures
The Patent Office today issued a press release of its notice of proposed rulemaking that would replace the broadest reasonable interpretation standard the Patent Trial and Appeal Board applies to construe unexpired patent claims and proposed substitute (amended) claims in AIA trial proceedings with the Phillips standard applied in patent cases before federal district courts … Continue Reading

Federal Circuit Again Reminds PTAB that BRI Must Be Reasonable

By Ryan J. Schermerhorn on Posted in Appeals, Claim Construction, Inter Partes Review, IPR, Sections 102/103
Last fall, the Federal Circuit reversed a PTAB decision that affirmed an Examiner’s rejection of various claims in an ex parte reexamination because the Examiner’s interpretation of the claims, which the PTAB upheld, was unreasonably broad. In re Smith International, Inc., Appeal No. 2016-2303 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 26, 2017). The court’s decision is noteworthy because … Continue Reading

Error in Claim Construction Leads to Reversal of IPR Decision and Cancelation of Claims

By Michael R. Weiner on Posted in Appeals, Claim Construction, Inter Partes Review, IPR, Sections 102/103
Two recent Federal Circuit decisions illustrate how an error in construing claims may lead the court to reverse a PTAB final written decision. In Organik Kimya AS v. Rohm & Haas Co., the Federal Circuit determined that the PTAB correctly construed the disputed claim term, “swelling agent,” and therefore affirmed the PTAB’s decisions upholding the … Continue Reading

Federal Circuit Overturns PTAB’s Finding of Patent Validity

By Matthew R. Carey on Posted in Appeals, Claim Construction, Inter Partes Review, IPR, Sections 102/103
In a split opinion in Homeland Housewares, LLC v. Whirlpool Corporation, the Federal Circuit has again overturned a final written decision issued by the PTAB determining that challenged claims in an IPR were not unpatentable, a development that should at least cast doubt on the validity of patents that survive challenges at the PTAB. Homeland … Continue Reading

Owner of Hot-Work Steel Processing Patent Burned by Its Own IPR Evidence

By Michael R. Weiner on Posted in Claim Construction, Inter Partes Review, Sections 102/103, Trial Procedures
In Rovalma, S. A. Böhler-Edelstahl GmbH & Co., No. 2016-2233 (Fed. Cir. May 11, 2017), the Federal Circuit vacated the PTAB’s final written decision and remanded the case for the PTAB to provide a further explanation for its determination that the challenged claims were obvious. According to the court, the PTAB’s decision lacked sufficient detail … Continue Reading

PTAB Grants Hospira Petition to Institute IPR of Genentech Antibody Purification Patent

thumbnail image of DNA strandBy Heather R. Kissling on Posted in Biotechnology, Inter Partes Review, IPR, Sections 102/103
IPRs are an attractive option for biosimilar applicants to clear the patent landscape before delving into litigation under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCIA), which is still in its infancy.  Roche’s Herceptin® (trastuzumab) is a prime target for biosimilar makers, accounting for sales of over $6.5 billion in 2015.  Mylan, Celltrion, … Continue Reading

Pending Bill Would Deliver More Judicial Scrutiny to USPTO and FDA Rules

By Michael Muczynski on Posted in Claim Construction, Institution / Denial, Inter Partes Review, Legislation, Post Grant Review
 The House of Representatives recently sent to the Senate its bill (H.R.5) that combines six previous regulatory reform bills, including, as Title II of the bill, the “Separation of Powers Restoration Act.”  Section 202 of the bill effectively removes the option for courts to apply Chevron deference to agency rulemaking and interpretations.  Thus, rather than deciding … Continue Reading

What Claim Construction Standard Applies If a Patent Expires During IPR Appeal?

By Michael R. Weiner on Posted in Appeals, Claim Construction, Inter Partes Review, IPR, Sections 102/103
In Personal Web Technologies, LLC v. Apple, Inc., Case No. 2016-1174 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 14, 2017), the Federal Circuit upheld the PTAB’s construction of disputed claim terms, but did not resolve a dispute over whether the broadest-reasonable-interpretation standard (BRI) or Phillips standard should apply when the challenged patent expires shortly after the PTAB issues its … Continue Reading

PTAB Declines to Institute IPR on Immersion’s Indefinite Means Plus Function Claims

By Lynn L. Janulis, Ph.D. on Posted in Claim Construction, Institution / Denial, Inter Partes Review, IPR, Section 112, Sections 102/103
Petitioners are finding themselves caught in a Catch-22.  The PTAB declares claims too indefinite under Section 112 to construe, but then declines to address the patentabilty of the claims.  Section 112 deficiencies are not grounds to challenge a patent in an IPR, but the PTAB has authority to find such deficiencies. Recently, the PTAB decided … Continue Reading

PTAB Should Have Canceled All Challenged Claims in CBM Reviews

By Lynn L. Janulis, Ph.D. on Posted in Appeals, Claim Construction, Covered Business Method, Post Grant Review, Section 101
In Apple, Inc. v. Ameranth, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2016), the Federal Circuit reviewed the final written decisions in CBM reviews of three related patents owned by Ameranth, Inc., directed to computerized systems for generating and displaying menus for use in the restaurant industry.  The court determined that the PTAB properly construed all disputed claim terms, … Continue Reading

It Isn’t Printed Publication Art Unless It’s Publicly Accessible

By William K. Merkel, Ph.D. on Posted in Inter Partes Review, Printed Publication
In IPR2015-01191, American MegaTrends and four other petitioners challenged claims 1-9, 11, 12 and 15 of USPN 6,892,304 owned by Kinglite Holdings, Inc. on grounds of obviousness over three technical documents, supplemented by a fourth document for the challenge to claim 6.  The parties also indicated that they were involved in 11 other IPR petitions … Continue Reading

Federal Circuit Affirms Board’s Decision Cancelling Claims for Oil Drilling Equipment Based on Broad Claim Construction

By Kate Nuehring Su on Posted in Claim Construction, Inter Partes Review
In Schoeller Bleckmann Oilfield v. Churchill Drilling Tools U.S., No. 2016-1494 (Fed. Cir. November 9, 2016) (non-prec.), the court affirmed the Board’s IPR decision of unpatentability of claims directed to oil-drilling equipment.  The court refused to construe the challenged claims as limited to a disclosed embodiment, rejecting the patentee’s argument that the claim term “ball-like” … Continue Reading

PTAB Upholds Claims Under Narrowed BRI Construction on Remand

By Ryan N. Phelan on Posted in Claim Construction, Inter Partes Review
The PTAB’s recent decision on remand in Corning Optical Comm. v. PPC Broadband (IPR2013-00342, Paper No. 57), and the related decision on appeal (815 F.3d 747 (Fed. Cir. 2016)), serve as a reminder that the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) standard does not permit an unreasonably broad construction. In addition, the PTAB’s related order (see Paper … Continue Reading

Ignore Occam’s Razor at your Peril

thumbnail image of DNA strandBy William K. Merkel, Ph.D. on Posted in Appeals, Biotechnology, Claim Construction, Sections 102/103
In IPR 2015-01127, PAR Pharmaceuticals, challenged claims 1-11 of USPN 8,404,215 owned by Horizon Therapeutics, LLC on grounds of obviousness over various combinations of six references.  Lupin Ltd. and Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. filed another challenge to the claims of the ‘215 patent on the same grounds using the same arguments and evidence as used by … Continue Reading

Federal Circuit Suggest Expansive Interpretation of “Adapted to” in Affirming CBM Cancellation

By Thomas L. Duston on Posted in Claim Construction, Sections 102/103
In a recent non-precedential decision, the Federal Circuit suggested a very expansive interpretation for the oft-used phrase “adapted to.” Relying upon the prosecution history, the Federal Circuit determined that the Board correctly construed claims relating to interactive video programming, and on that basis affirmed the Board’s decision that the claims were anticipated by a prior … Continue Reading

Federal Circuit Reaffirms that Phillips applies when Patent has expired

By Ryan J. Schermerhorn on Posted in Claim Construction
It is well accepted that the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) standard, which the PTO employs during patent examination, and not the Phillips standard applied in district court proceedings, is generally the proper standard to be used when interpreting claims in Post-Grant proceedings such as IPRs and reexamination proceedings.  However, in In Re CSB-System International, Inc., … Continue Reading

“It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, NO it’s a Granted Motion to Amend.”

By Ryan J. Schermerhorn on Posted in Amendments, Claim Construction, Covered Business Method, Inter Partes Review, Post Grant Review, Sections 102/103
We previously reported the May 9, 2016, Patent Office’s study that the PTAB rarely grants motions to amend.  There, we explained that patent owners rarely file motions to amend and, even when such motions are filed, the PTAB rarely grants such motions. Last week, in Google Inc. and Apple Inc., v. ContentGuard Holdings, Inc., Case … Continue Reading

An Overview of Amendments to the PTAB Rules

By Lynn L. Janulis, Ph.D. and Sharon M. Sintich, Ph.D. on Posted in Amendments, Claim Construction, Inter Partes Review
On June 30, 2016, lead APJ Jacqueline Wright Bonilla provided an overview of the new PTAB rules during the Biotechnology/Chemical/Pharmaceutical Customer Partnership (BCP) Conference.  The final rule on Amendments to the Rules of Practice for Trials Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, which we have previously discussed [April 21, 2016 and August 20, 2015] … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Upholds Use of BRI Standard in Cuozzo

By Michael R. Weiner on Posted in Institution / Denial, Inter Partes Review, Trial Procedures
In Cuozzo Speed Technologies, Inc., v. Lee, the Supreme Court affirmed the Federal Circuit’s decision, upholding the PTAB’s use of the BRI standard for claim interpretation in IPRs, and determining that 35 U.S.C. § 314(d) bars judicial review of the PTAB’s decision to institute review on grounds not specifically raised in the IPR petition.… Continue Reading

PTAB Grants Motion to Amend Claims

By William K. Merkel, Ph.D. on Posted in Amendments, Claim Construction, Inter Partes Review, Post Grant Review, Section 112, Sections 102/103
In IPR2015-00208, Shinn Fu petitioned for IPR of USPN 6,681,897 owned by Tire Hanger.  All five claims of the patent were drawn to methods of supporting vehicle wheels removed from a vehicle while on a service lift, wherein the supports would allow technicians to remove and replace the wheels without risking back injury by bending.  … Continue Reading
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