News & Analysis as of

Patent Trial and Appeal Board Patent Ownership United States Patent and Trademark Office

McDermott Will & Emery

Looks like estoppel, sounds like estoppel … but it’s just director discretion

McDermott Will & Emery on

The acting director of the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) granted a patent owner’s request for discretionary denial and denied institution of an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding, finding that the petitioner engaged in...more

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

Latest Director Discretionary Denial Decision in iRhythm Provides Valuable Insights

On June 6, 2025, Acting USPTO Director Stewart issued a decision in iRhythm Tech. v. Welch Allyn, Inc., IPR2025-00363, Paper 10 (and four related IPRs), which granted Patent Owner’s request for discretionary denial. This is...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Federal Circuit Revives CRISPR-Cas9 Patent Priority Dispute

The CRISPR-Cas9 patent landscape remains complex and unsettled. The Federal Circuit’s latest decision in University of California v. Broad Institute1 revived the high-stakes dispute between UC2 and Broad3 over foundational...more

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

Recent Updates at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Recent changes at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) have brought uncertainty to inter partes review and post-grant review practitioners before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). These procedural and...more

McDermott Will & Emery

A Patent Without a Pulse: Provisional Rights Don’t Outlive the Patent

McDermott Will & Emery on

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal from a patent applicant seeking provisional rights on a patent that would issue only after it had already expired, finding that the applicant lacked the...more

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

Does Your Office Post-Grant Strategy Account for the Rise of Serial Challenges Flowing From the PTAB to the CRU?

After eight weeks of shifts in governmental policies, the patent bar is feeling repercussions from all directions. One critical area in flux is the post-grant challenge arena. With a reduced PTAB head count and a steady...more

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

Sterne Kessler’s Reissue, Reexamination, and Supplemental Examination Practice Tips – March 2025

In the mid-2000s, the U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) determined that reexaminations would be more consistent and legally correct if performed by a centralized set of experienced and specially trained Examiners. As a result, the...more

Fish & Richardson

EPRx 101: Getting to Know Ex Parte Reexamination

Fish & Richardson on

Ex parte reexamination (EPRx) is a powerful tool that allows any party — including the patent owner — to request that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) reassess the validity of an issued patent based on...more

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

Reexamination of Expired Patents

Takeaways - - Expired patents may be eligible for reexamination. - Owner’s options during reexamination of an expired patent are severely limited. Similar to reexamination practice, which has long allowed reexamination...more

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

2024 PTAB Year in Review: Analysis & Trends – 2024 PTAB Case Highlights

Abuse of Process and/or Sanctions – 37 C.F.R. § 42.12 - Spectrum Solutions LLC v. Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics, LLC, IPR2021-00847, IPR2021-00850, IPR2021-00854, IPR2021-00857 & IPR2021-00860 - Decision...more

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

2024 PTAB Year in Review: Analysis & Trends

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the intellectual property landscape. In 2024, several developments affecting PTAB practice emerged, from new rulemaking at the USPTO to key...more

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

2024 Design Patents Year in Review: Analysis & Trends - Design Patents at the PTAB: 2024 in Review

Inter partes activity involving design patents at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) was relatively low in 2024. The PTAB rendered just two inter partes decisions involving design patents: Next Step Group, Inc. v....more

Jones Day

USPTO Launches Significant Patent Fee Increases

Jones Day on

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") raised patent fees and introduced new surcharges....more

Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, P.C.

The PREVAIL Act Could Change PTAB Trials in a Big Way

Since the America Invents Act (“AIA”) established a new venue for hearing patent disputes, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”), much ink has been spilled regarding the impacts of this forum on patent litigation and the...more

Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, P.C.

PTAB Finds Another Patent Fails to Pass Muster Under 101

At the end of October, the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) issued a final written decision in PGR2023-00023, finding all claims of a patent owned by Halliburton Energy Services unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 101....more

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

Historical Development of Substantial New Question contrasted with the new Section 325(d) Criteria

Ex parte reexamination proceedings have been available for over 40 years. The reexamination statutes, Public Law 96-517 of July 1, 1981 (also known as the Bayh-Dole Act), included 35 U.S.C. § 303, which codified, in part,...more

Erise IP

Eye on IPRs, October 2024: USPTO Issues Final PTAB Procedure Rules

Erise IP on

Every month, Erise’s patent attorneys review the latest inter partes review cases and news to bring you the stories that you should know about: USPTO Issues Final Rules on PTAB Procedure - The U.S. Patent and...more

Jones Day

Federal Circuit Clarifies Scope of Patent Owner Estoppel

Jones Day on

The Federal Circuit recently issued a decision in SoftView LLC v. Apple Inc. clarifying the scope of patent owner estoppel set forth in 37 C.F.R. § 42.73(d)(3)(i). 2024 WL 3543902 (Fed. Cir. July 26, 2024). The regulation...more

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

Cellect and Allergan: Obviousness-Type Double Patenting (ODP) in Reexamination and Reissue

Takeaways: 1. ODP in reexamination and reissue remains unpredictable despite Allergan 2. Patent Owners should carefully review ODP rejections to ensure they are proper Obviousness-type double patenting (ODP) is a legal...more

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

Reexamination Petition Practice Is a Critical Tool for Patent Owner Success

Takeaways: 1. Nontraditional and unique issue petitions are common for patent owners to properly prosecute reexamination proceedings. 2. Well-drafted petitions influence outcomes and preserve PTAB, District Court, and/or...more

McDermott Will & Emery

From Oops to Encore: The Board’s Premature Adverse Judgment

McDermott Will & Emery on

The Director of the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) overturned the Patent Trial & Appeal Board’s premature adverse judgment against a patent owner and remanded an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding based on the fact that...more

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

The Reissue Recapture Doctrine

One of the advantages of filing a reissue application within two years of the original patent’s grant is the ability to seek broader claims. More often than not, however, a broadening Reissue will be rejected by the CRU...more

McDermott Will & Emery

How Close Are They? PTO Looking for “Significant Relationship” Between Sequential IPR Petitioners

Addressing the issue of whether to discretionally deny a petition for inter partes review (IPR) under the General Plastics factors when there is no “significant relationship” between the petitioners, the Director of the US...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

USPTO Director Vacates and Remands PTAB’s Institution Decision Over Insufficient Explanation of Findings

The USPTO Director vacated a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision denying institution of inter partes review for not addressing alleged differences between references in the petition and those considered during prosecution....more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Defendants Ordered to Coordinate Pretrial Litigation in MDL Are Not Necessarily 'Significantly Related' to Support Discretionary...

The Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office vacated and remanded a decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board discretionarily denying institution of an inter partes review petition. The Director concluded that...more

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