News & Analysis as of

Patent Trial and Appeal Board Patent Examinations Patent Litigation

MoFo Life Sciences

Is Your Claim Open or Closed? Claim Construction Takes on a New Meaning in Eye Therapies, LLC v. Slayback Pharma, LLC

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On June 30, 2025, the Federal Circuit issued a precedential decision in Eye Therapies, LLC v. Slayback Pharma, LLC, reversing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB’s) claim construction of the phrase “consisting...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Senators Tillis and Coons Once More Attempt to Fix Patent Eligibility

Patent eligibility is broken. The only semi-cogent arguments that I have ever heard in support of the status quo is that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues too many broad, vague patents, and that 35 U.S.C. § 101...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

PTAB Remains Hostile to Section 101 Appeals

There is ample evidence that patent examiner allowance rates vary dramatically from examiner to examiner and art unit to art unit.[1]  This has resulted in the general understanding that there are "easy" examiners and "tough"...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Think Twice About Appealing a § 101 Rejection to the PTAB

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) established its Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in September 2012.  As mandated by the America Invents Act, the PTAB conducts administrative trials, such as inter partes...more

Goodwin

Issue 37: PTAB Trial Tracker

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Expert Testimony Alone Insufficient to Show Examiner's Material Error in Considering Prior Art - In Nespresso USA, Inc. v. K-fee System GmbH, IPR2021-01222, Paper 9, at 25 (PTAB Jan. 18, 2022), the Board denied...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

A Few Things that USPTO Could Do to Simplify Patent Prosecution

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office handles hundreds of thousands of patent applications per year, as well as various types of administrative patent proceedings.  While the USPTO has made incremental improvements in its...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Top Stories of 2021: #7 to #9

After reflecting upon the events of the past twelve months, Patent Docs presents its 15th annual list of top patent stories. For 2021, we identified nine stories that were covered on Patent Docs last year that we believe had...more

Kilpatrick

Five Impactful USPTO Procedural Developments for Patent Practitioners

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As the world pivoted to navigate obstacles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the USPTO not only adapted to address the challenges, but appeared to make the most of this period by improving existing procedures. Partner...more

Knobbe Martens

Stanford’s Computer Models – Inventive for Parents, but Not for Patents

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IN RE: BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY - Before Prost, Lourie, and Reyna. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: The specific combination of purely mathematical steps in a...more

Haug Partners LLP

In SynQor, Inc. v. Vicor Corp., Federal Circuit Applies Collateral Estoppel to Related Inter Partes Reexamination Proceedings

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On February 22, 2021, the Federal Circuit addressed for the first time whether collateral estoppel (i.e., issue preclusion) was applicable in inter partes reexamination proceedings. The case is SynQor, Inc. v. Vicor Corp.,...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

In re Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Fed. Cir. 2021)

The Federal Circuit affirmed a decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) rejecting claims for failure to satisfy the subject matter eligibility standard under 35 U.S.C. § 101, in ex...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP - Federal Circuitry

Last Week in the Federal Circuit (February 8-12): Patent Term Adjustments When Examiners Back Down

Did you remember to send your favorite examiner a Valentine’s Day card?  Okay, so maybe that’s not the typical applicant/examiner relationship.  But this week we do look at some potential consequences from the back and forth...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

Federal Circuit Appeals from the PTAB and ITC: Summaries of Key 2020 Decisions: In re Google Tech. Holdings LLC, 980 F.3d 858...

Google applied for a patent on video-on-demand systems. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board affirmed the examiner’s rejection of the claims as obvious, stating that Google’s responses to the examiner’s rejections were...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

The CRISPR Chronicles: Enter Toolgen

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board has declared interferences individually between Toolgen as Senior Party and as Junior Party the parties in the pending interference, Broad Institute, Harvard...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Gree, Inc. v. Supercell Oy (Fed. Cir. 2020)

One would think that inventions relating to computer game software would easily meet the requirements for patent eligibility, as these inventions fundamentally involve technological processes and require computer...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Stupid § 101 Tricks

If we have learned anything from the last six-and-a-half years of patent eligibility jurisprudence, it is that nobody knows what's going on. Subject matter eligibility is a fundamental requirement for an invention to be...more

Goodwin

Issue Twenty-Seven: PTAB Trial Tracker

Goodwin on

The availability of post-grant proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has changed the face of patent litigation. This monthly digest is designed to keep you up-to-date by highlighting interesting PTAB,...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Idorsia Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. v. Iancu (Fed. Cir. 2020)

This week, in Idorsia Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. v. Iancu, the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granting summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Patent and Trademark...more

Goodwin

Issue Twenty-Five: PTAB Trial Tracker

Goodwin on

The availability of post-grant proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has changed the face of patent litigation. This monthly digest is designed to keep you up-to-date by highlighting interesting PTAB,...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

USPTO Designates Three Decisions Concerning Discretion to Deny Inter Partes Review Under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d)

On March 24, the USPTO issued two precedential decisions and one informative decision that clarify the circumstances under which the PTAB will utilize its discretion to deny IPR institution under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d). This...more

Knobbe Martens

Claims Including Computer Speed and Efficiency Improvements May Still Be Ineligible Under Section 101

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CUSTOMEDIA TECHNOLOGIES, LLC V. DISH NETWORK CORPORATION, DISH NETWORK LLC. Before Prost, Dyk, and Moore. Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: Claims...more

Knobbe Martens

Federal Circuit Review - November 2019

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The Appointments Clause: Ensuring That PTAB Decisions Are Subject to Constitutional Checks and Balances  In Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., Appeal No. 18-2251, the Federal Circuit ruled that, under the then-existing...more

Williams Mullen

PTAB Designates as Informative Two Ex Parte Decisions Regarding Examiners’ Use of “Design Choice” Rationale in Support of...

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On October 15, 2019, the PTAB designated as informative two decisions providing insight into when it is an appropriate for an examiner to reply upon a so-called “design choice” rationale in support of an obviousness...more

Holland & Knight LLP

The PTAB Provides Guidance on Patent Eligibility Framework

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Earlier this month, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) designated as informative four of its decisions applying the newest patent eligibility framework. This new eligibility framework, based on the United States Patent...more

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC

Latest Federal Court Cases - April 2019

Grunenthal GMBH v. Alkem Labs., Ltd., Appeal Nos. 2017-1153, -2048, -2049, -2050 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 28, 2019) - This week the Federal Circuit issued a rare decision concerning the utility doctrine in patent law. In general,...more

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