Claim Term Read Out by PTAB Constituted “Harmless Error”

In a recent non-precedential decision, Snap-on Inc. v. Milwaukee Elec. Tool Corp., No. 2017-1305, 2018 WL 935454 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 16, 2018), the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB’s final written decisions in several IPRs that upheld challenged claims of Milwaukee Tool patents as nonobvious, although the court determined that the PTAB erred in construing a … Continue Reading

PTAB Failed to Properly Apply Incorporation by Reference Standard for Anticipation

By Heather R. Kissling on October 6, 2016 Posted in Appeals, Inter Partes Review, IPR, Sections 102/103

This blog previously referenced Athena Automation Ltd. v. Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd., IPR2013-00290 as an example of the Board granting a request for rehearing, but ultimately confirming its original decision. On appeal, the Federal Circuit vacated the Board’s decision on the particular issues raised by the Petitioner in the request for rehearing, suggesting that … Continue Reading

Federal Circuit Refuses to Reweigh Factual Findings, But PTAB’s Conclusory Statements Are Insufficient

By Heather R. Kissling on August 22, 2016 Posted in Inter Partes Review, Sections 102/103

The Federal Circuit’s precedential decision in In re: Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc., No. 2015-1050, 2015-1058 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 9, 2016), highlights recurring themes in appeals of PTAB IPR decisions. On one hand, the Federal Circuit is reluctant to overturn a PTAB decision canceling claims for obviousness based on Patent Owner’s assertions that the PTAB failed to … Continue Reading