Recently, the Supreme Court received two petitions for writ of certiorari challenging the NHK-Fintiv rule. The PTAB applies the NHK-Fintiv rule when deciding whether to grant institution of an inter partes review. The two petitioners, Apple and Mylan, seek to challenge both the lawfulness of the NHK-Fintiv rule and the Federal Circuit’s contention that it
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.
Earlier this month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a notice in the Federal Register providing guidance regarding the proper presentation of prophetic examples and working examples in a patent application. According to the guidance, the proper presentation of prophetic and working examples requires them to be described in a manner such
On April 15, 2021, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) implemented the COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program (“Pilot Program”) to fast-track ex parte appeals of products or processes subject to an applicable FDA approval for COVID-19 use.
Generally, appeals to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) are taken up for decision in
Last month, in January 2021, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) published a memorandum (the “January 2021 Memorandum”) clarifying how it will analyze claims for indefiniteness in AIA post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”), namely patented claims in PGRs and CBMs and proposed substitute claims in IPRs. Prior to
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
On October 20, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO” or “Office”) published in the Federal Register “Request for Comments on Discretion To Institute Trials Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board” seeking public comments on the appropriate considerations for instituting trials before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) under the Leahy-Smith
A motion recently filed by US Inventor, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California seeks a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to prevent the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO” or “Patent Office”) from instituting any new reviews of any patent until it solves the debate
On October 6, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark office (USPTO) released a report titled “Public Views on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual property Policy.” The report follows the USPTO’s August 2019 request for comments on patenting AI inventions, and the USPTO’s October 2019 request for comments related to the impact of
Last week, Microsoft got tripped up at oral argument on the blocking and tackling of IPR practice: making sure your prior art is prior art.
The specific error was eminently avoidable, though perhaps also eminently understandable. Under Federal Circuit law, a reference generally does not count as prior art unless it was “indexed.” (Think Dewey