The Federal Circuit has rejected for the third time efforts by the Director of the PTO to preclude appellate review of whether challenged patent claims were properly deemed “covered business methods,” and thereby subject to CBM review. Previously, in Versata Development Group, Inc. v. SAP America, Inc., the Federal Circuit concluded that its jurisdiction to hear appeals of the PTAB’s final written decisions empowered it to examine if challenged claims qualified for CBM review (we reported here). In doing so, the Federal Circuit rejected contrary arguments of the Director who intervened on appeal.
Continue Reading Called Third Strike, Is the PTO Director Out? Federal Circuit Rejects
When Might a Request for Rehearing of Final Decision Be Worthwhile?
In an earlier blog post from last June, we were unable to find any successful Requests for Rehearing or Reconsideration of a Final Written Decision and concluded that, in most instances, such requests are generally a waste of resources. However, while the PTAB has continued to deny the vast majority of motions for rehearing of a final written decision, it has now granted a few. Those limited number of successful rehearing requests demonstrate that, where you can point to something specific that the Board has overlooked, a request for rehearing may be worthwhile. However, where the Board merely disagrees with your argument, don’t bother.
Continue Reading When Might a Request for Rehearing of Final Decision Be Worthwhile?
Court Reviews Use of Broadest Reasonable Construction IPR Proceedings
On January 15, 2016, the United States Supreme Court agreed to consider whether it is appropriate to give claims challenged in inter partes review their “broadest reasonable construction.” See Cuozzo Speed Tech., LLC v. Lee. Given the Federal Circuit’s dismal recent track record when the Supreme Court has injected itself into disputed patent issues, practitioners are likely girding for a tectonic shift in IPR proceedings. For those beleaguered by litigation from non-practicing entities, they may be justified in fearing that coveted IPR proceedings will become less useful as a bulwark against such cases.
Continue Reading Court Reviews Use of Broadest Reasonable Construction IPR Proceedings
District Court Denies Recovery of PTAB Costs in Non-Exceptional Case
On January 5, a district court denied defendant Westlake Services, LLC’s Motion for recovery of costs related to CBM petitions that invalidated certain of the patent claims asserted in the pending litigation and prompted plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss the district court case. Credit Acceptance Corp. v. Westlake Services, LLC, Case 13cv01523 (C.D. Cal. January 5, 2016). The court’s decision was governed by the language of the local rules identifying taxable costs. Because the local rules provided only recovery for “filing fees paid to the Clerk” and not filing fees paid to other entities, the request to recover the filing fees of $73,200 paid to the USPTO as part of the CBM Proceedings was denied.
Continue Reading District Court Denies Recovery of PTAB Costs in Non-Exceptional Case
Estoppel Applied in Second CBM to Later-Obtained Patent and Evidence
Six days after issuing a final decision holding the claims of U.S. Patent No. 7,711,100 unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 101 in a first CBM review, Square, Inc. v. Unwired Planet, LLC, CBM2014-00156, (PTAB Dec. 22, 2015), the PTAB issued a decision denying institution in a second CBM Petition filed by the same Petitioner for the same patent, determining that the petitioner was estopped under 35 U.S.C. § 325(e)(1) from raising the grounds of the second petition, based on a later-identified, prior-art patent and later-obtained declaration evidence, because the later-identified prior art could have been discovered earlier and because it was foreseeable that the additional declaration evidence would have been needed in the first case. Square, Inc. v. Unwired Planet, LLC, CBM2015-00148, Paper 14 (PTAB Dec. 28, 2015).
Continue Reading Estoppel Applied in Second CBM to Later-Obtained Patent and Evidence
Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB’s Victory on Invalidity Ground the Petition Did Not Even Present
In SightSound Techs., LLC v. Apple Inc., Appeal Nos. 2015-1159, -1160 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 15, 2015), the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB’s final written decisions in two CBM patent review proceedings that canceled claims in SightSound’s patents as being obvious over prior art (referred to as the CompuSonics publications), even though Apple did not present that specific challenge in its petitions. The Federal Circuit’s decision is important because it shows that the court will not review a PTAB decision to institute an AIA trial on a ground the petitioner did not present.
Continue Reading Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB’s Victory on Invalidity Ground the Petition Did Not Even Present
PTAB to Shakespeare: “ ‘What’s in a Name?’ Are you Kidding? Everything!”
Shakespeare’s Juliet famously observes, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” The PTAB begs to differ. While a generic computing device may not render abstract claims patentable, introduce it with a fancy nom de guerre and you have got yourself patentable subject matter.
Continue Reading PTAB to Shakespeare: “ ‘What’s in a Name?’ Are you Kidding? Everything!”
PTAB Refuses to Terminate AIA Trial Despite Applying the Estoppel Provision to Dismiss the Petitioner
The PTAB recently issued an order applying the estoppel provision of the AIA (35 U.S.C. § 325(e)(1)) to dismiss a petitioner from covered business method (CBM) patent review proceedings a few days before a consolidated final hearing. Apple Inc. v. Smartflash LLC, CBM2015-00015, Paper 49 (PTAB Nov. 4, 2015) (common order involving CBM2015-00016 and CBM2015-00018). The order is significant because it offers guidance on how the PTAB interprets this provision and applies it to decide whether a petitioner “reasonably could have raised” a patentability challenge clarified by a Supreme Court decision that was not available during an earlier CBM proceeding involving the same parties, the same patent, and the same claims.
Continue Reading PTAB Refuses to Terminate AIA Trial Despite Applying the Estoppel Provision to Dismiss the Petitioner
A 200% Increase in Appeals of Patent Office Decisions to the Federal Circuit
In August of 2012, the Federal Register published the Patent Office’s estimate of the number of AIA trial petitions the Office then expected to receive in each of the three succeeding fiscal years (each such year ends September 30). In October of 2015, the Patent Office published a report of the number of trial petitions it actually received during these fiscal years. The table below presents this same information:
Continue Reading A 200% Increase in Appeals of Patent Office Decisions to the Federal Circuit
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb: Response to IPO Panel on PTAB Proceedings
Recently, in the pages of this blog, we reported on the dire predictions made at the IPO Annual Meeting here in Chicago of the “end of days” for patents. 
The purported culprits? The PTAB and the America Invents Act’s newly enacted Inter Partes Review and Covered Business Method Review. “Well, allow me to retort,” to borrow a line from Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Pulp Fiction.
Continue Reading How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb: Response to IPO Panel on PTAB Proceedings