News & Analysis as of

Patent Trial and Appeal Board United States Patent and Trademark Office Prior Art

Morgan Lewis

USPTO Tightens Limits on AAPA Use in IPRs Following Qualcomm Precedent

Morgan Lewis on

A recent memo from the acting director of the US Patent and Trademark Office directs the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to reject inter partes review (IPR) petitions that use “applicant admitted prior art (AAPA), expert...more

McCarter & English, LLP

Navigating the Landscape of Patent Challenges at the USPTO

Challengers striving to beat higher-ranked opponents at the US Open tennis tournament happening now in New York are not the only challengers facing tricky new situations. Parties wishing to challenge the validity of US...more

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

U.S. IP Update – August 2025

Sterne Kessler’s U.S. IP Update is a newsletter delivering the latest developments in U.S. intellectual property law, tailored for companies and legal counsel in Korea. Stay informed on key court decisions, policy changes,...more

Quinn Emanuel

Patent Trial and Appeal Board Issues New Guidance Regarding Use of "General Knowledge" in IPR Petitions

Quinn Emanuel on

On July 31st, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB") issued a three-page memorandum stating that it will “enforce and no longer waive the requirement of 37 C.F.R. § 42.104(b)(4).”...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

DexCom, Inc. v. Stewart (Fed. Cir. 2025)

The Federal Circuit affirmed a decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in an inter partes review prompted by an infringement allegation in DexCom, Inc. v....more

King & Spalding

USPTO Acting Director Stewart Limits Use of General Knowledge in IPR Petitions

King & Spalding on

On July 31, 2025, Acting USPTO Director Coke Morgan Stewart released a memo instructing the agency “that applicant admitted prior art (AAPA), expert testimony, common sense, and other evidence that is not ‘prior art...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Use of general knowledge in IPR petitions will no longer work

On July 31, 2025, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) issued a memo clarifying the requirements under 37 C.F.R. § 42.104(b)(4) for inter partes review (IPR) petitions. The memo emphasizes that petitioners must clearly...more

McCarter & English, LLP

New Patent Office Guidance Raises Bar for IPR Petitioners

The Patent Office recently announced that it will begin enforcing a rule that requires that inter partes review (IPR) petitions “specify where each element of the claim is found in the prior art patents or printed...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

American Science and Engineering, Inc. v. Stewart (Fed. Cir. 2025)

Under Dickinson v. Zurko courts (specifically, the Federal Circuit) should defer to factual determinations by administrative agencies like the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office unless they are not supported by substantial...more

ArentFox Schiff

USPTO Restricts Use of AAPA and Other General Knowledge Evidence in IPR Proceedings

ArentFox Schiff on

On July 31, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a new memorandum announcing that it will begin enforcing 37 C.F.R. § 42.104(b)(4) that requires petitioners in inter partes review (IPR) proceeding to “specify...more

Jones Day

Subsequent Challenge Does Not Justify Discretionary Denial

Jones Day on

In a recent decision, Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart denied a Patent Owner’s request for discretionary denial in LifeVac, LLC v. DCSTAR, Inc., IPR2025-00454. Even though Petitioner had previously challenged the same...more

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

July USPTO Guidance Sets Stricter Standards for Evidence in IPR Petitions

Acting Director of the USPTO, Coke Morgan Stewart, issued a memorandum last week that will change the way petitioners levy challenges to patents via inter partes review (IPR). The change will apply to any petition for IPR...more

WilmerHale

PTAB/USPTO Update - August 2025

WilmerHale on

On July 31, 2025, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Coke Morgan Stewart issued a memorandum indicating that the USPTO “will enforce and no longer waive the requirement of...more

Fish & Richardson

USPTO Limits Use of General Knowledge in IPR Proceedings

Fish & Richardson on

On July 31, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a memorandum (“Memo”) announcing that the Office will renew enforcement of 37 C.F.R. § 42.104(b)(4) (“Rule 104(b)(4)”) in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings....more

Womble Bond Dickinson

USPTO Removes Reliance on Applicant Admitted Prior Art in IPR Proceedings

Womble Bond Dickinson on

On July 31, 2025, the acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a memorandum making a significant change in Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) inter partes review (IPR) practice and...more

Baker Botts L.L.P.

Ex Parte Reexaminations Poised to Make a Quiet Comeback: Discretionary Denial Guidance for Inter Partes Reexamination May Increase...

Baker Botts L.L.P. on

Imagine this. You were just served with a Complaint for patent infringement and learn that, some years ago, your competitor was granted a patent giving them a legal monopoly to exclude others, including you, from making,...more

Knobbe Martens

Applicant Admitted Prior Art Can (Sometimes) Show Obviousness

Knobbe Martens on

SHOCKWAVE MED., INC., V. CARDIOVASCULAR SYS., INC. - Before Lourie, Dyk, and Cunningham.  Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board in No. IPR2019-00405. In inter partes review...more

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

What Should the USPTO Consider Changing for Implementing Post-Final Written Decision Estoppel in Ex Parte Reexamination Based on...

The estoppel provision of 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(1) had largely prevented requesters from challenging claims of a patent via ex parte reexamination after an inter partes review (IPR) that resulted in a final written decision...more

Jones Day

Inventor Testimony of Reduction Date Leads to Denial

Jones Day on

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) denied institution of an inter partes review (IPR) brought by Par-Kan Company, LLC against Unverferth Manufacturing Company regarding U.S. Patent No. 8,967,940 (“the ‘940 patent”). ...more

A&O Shearman

The Federal Circuit Rejects PTAB’s Use Of Traditional Construction Of “Consisting Essentially Of”

A&O Shearman on

On June 30, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a decision by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) and remanded the case for further proceedings using a narrower construction of the...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Federal Circuit Holds Applicant Admitted Prior Art Cannot Form “Part of the Basis” of an IPR Ground, Reversing a PTAB Win for...

The Federal Circuit recently reversed a PTAB determination on remand that a patent was obvious over applicant admitted prior art (“AAPA”) in combination with prior art patents, holding that expressly designating AAPA as a...more

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

The Evolution of “New” in the “Substantial New Question” Standard in Patent Reexamination

As the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Acting USPTO Director refocus challengers, and with them Patent Owners, towards reexamination from inter partes review proceedings, the need to understand the nuance of “new” in...more

Baker Botts L.L.P.

Discretionary Denials at the PTAB: Strategic Insights for Petitioners and Patent Owners in a Shifting Landscape

Baker Botts L.L.P. on

A set of recently issued memoranda by United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) officials has re-energized the debate around discretionary denials in post-grant trials at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”)....more

Jones Day

Delegated Rehearing Panel Sends Lifeline to Mercedes-Benz

Jones Day on

A Delegated Rehearing Panel (“DRP”) recently modified the PTAB’s construction of the claim term “workload” and remanded, giving Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (“Petitioner”) another opportunity to challenge a processor patent....more

Volpe Koenig

“Settled Expectations” as the New Gatekeeper for PTAB Discretionary Denials: Why Late-Stage IPRs Are Getting Harder to File

Volpe Koenig on

When Acting USPTO Director Coke Morgan Stewart denied institution in Dabico v. AXA Power IPR2025-00408  Paper 21, much of the commentary focused on the result....more

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