CyWee Group Ltd. (“CyWee”) has been bouncing between the Federal Circuit and Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) with its administrative challenges after two inter partes review (“IPR”) proceedings invalidated the claims of its patents. Now, the Federal Circuit has resolved CyWee’s remaining procedural challenges, affirming the Board’s decisions in CyWee Grp. Ltd., v. Google
Richard E. Waterman
IPR Limbo During the Arthrex Decisions
In Polaris Innovations Ltd. v. Brent, No. 2019-1483, 2022 WL 4241665 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 15, 2022), the Federal Circuit faced an appeal that had bounced back and forth between the Court and Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“the Board”) several times while it was caught in the administrative ambiguity resulting from the Arthrex decision.…
Raising a New Rationale or Elaborating on a Previously Raised Issue?
In Everstar Merch. Co. v. Willis Elec. Co., No. 2021-1882, 2022 WL 1089909 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 12, 2022), the Federal Circuit provided guidance to distinguish between raising a new argument and elaborating on previously raised arguments in proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”). Here it was decided that a minor point…
Appealing IPR Decisions – Art. III Standing in the Context of Litigation Settlements and Licenses
The Federal Circuit has provided additional guidance about an appellant’s standing to appeal IPR decisions after settling the related litigations and entering into patent license agreements. In its second decision between the parties on this topic, the court has dismissed the appeal for lack of Article III standing in Apple Inc. v. Qualcomm Inc.,…
Suspending the Rules: A Year’s Worth of USPTO Petitions
In some circumstances, patent applicants may petition the Patent Office to suspend non-statutory rules under 37 CFR § 1.183. As the text of the rule indicates, the Patent Office will only grant such petitions “[i]n an extraordinary situation, when justice requires,” but does not clarify the type of situations where this requirement would be met. …
Improvements to Determinations of Haplotype Phase Patent Ineligible Under § 101
In In re: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (“Stanford”), No. 2020-1012 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 11, 2021), the Federal Circuit was presented another opportunity to analyze patent-eligible subject matter. In affirming the § 101 rejection of the claims, the court held the mathematical calculations and statistical modeling improvements to determinations of haplotype…
Issue Preclusion Precluded PTAB’s Contrary Result in a Later Inter Partes Reexam
In SynQor, Inc. v. Vicor Corp., Case No. 19-1704 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 22, 2021), the Federal Circuit vacated the inter partes reexamination decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”). As part of the decision, the court held that collateral estoppel (issue preclusion) can apply where the Board’s prior determinations involving different…
Kannuu v. Samsung: Forum Selection Clause Did Not Prohibit IPR Challenges
In Kannuu Pty Ltd. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., No 19-civ-4297 (S.D.N.Y Jan. 19, 2021), the parties’ forum selection clause in their non-disclosure agreement did not prevent Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (“Samsung”) from challenging Kannuu Pty, Ltd.’s (“Kannuu”) patent in an IPR proceeding. The court held IPR petitions did not fall within the scope…
Claim Construction Arguments in Appeal Forfeited if Not Raised Before the Board
In In re: Google Technology Holdings LLC, No. 2019-1828 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 13, 2020), the Federal Circuit elaborated on the policies underlying waiver and forfeiture of appellate arguments. Ultimately, the court affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (“the Board”) obviousness rejections of the claims at issue because Google had forfeited the arguments it…
Still No Same Party Joinder and Joinder of New Issues through 35 U.S.C. § 315(c)
The Federal Circuit reconfirmed its interpretation of the IPR joinder rules of 35 U.S.C. § 315(c) after the panel’s rehearing in Facebook, Inc. v. Windy City Innovations, LLC, No. 2018-1400, 2020 WL 5267975 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 4, 2020). Appellant Facebook, Inc. had filed a combined request for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc. The…