In Intel Corporation v. Pact XPP Schweiz AG, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) reversed and remanded the decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”). In the decision, the Federal Circuit rejected the Board’s rigid application of the “motivation-to-combine” analysis that required an element from one reference must
Appellate Decisions
Federal Circuit’s Rule 36 Judgments Leave Everyone in the Dark
Federal Circuit Rule 36 has been criticized for leaving IP practitioners in the dark as it allows for the court to enter judgment of affirmance without the reasoned analysis of the Court. Generally, the Rule allows for a judgement of affirmance without opinion if one of the enumerated conditions is met and the opinion would…
Federal Circuit Supports Flexible Implementation of the Rule of Reason Approach to Support a Finding of Sufficient Corroboration in an Interference Proceeding
In Dionex Softron GMBH vs. Agilent Technologies, Inc., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (“Board”) decision in an interference proceeding to award priority to Agilent Technologies, Inc. (“Agilent”) over Dionex Softron GmbH (“Dionex”). In particular, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Board’s application of…
The Federal Circuit Rejects Additional Challenges to USPTO Authority After Arthrex
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…
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…
In Hunting Titan v. DynaEnergetics, Federal Circuit Affirms Precedential Opinion Panel But Avoids Ruling on a Standard for Sua Sponte Rejection of Substitute Claims
Background
In 2018, Hunting Titan, Inc. filed a petition for inter partes review (“IPR”) of U.S. Patent No. 9,581,422 (“the ’422 patent”), which is owned by DynaEnergetics Europe GmbH, a manufacturer of industrial explosives. In pertinent part, Hunting Titan asserted in its petition that claims 1-15 of the ’422 patent were unpatentable because they were…
Supreme Court’s Denial of Apple and Mylan’s Petitions Leaves NHK/Fintiv Rule in Place
On January 18, the Supreme Court denied petitions for writs of certiorari from both Apple and Mylan Laboratories. Each company sought to challenge the NHK/Fintiv framework that was developed by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“the Board”). As we previously wrote about on this blog in September of last year, the NHK…
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.,…
Federal Circuit Reaffirms Obviousness Standard by Reversing PTAB in University of Strathclyde v. Clear-Vu Lighting
Earlier this month, in University of Strathclyde v. Clear-Vu Lighting LLC, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“the CAFC”) reversed a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“the Board”) that found claims 1-4 of the University of Strathclyde’s U.S. Patent No. 9,839,706 (“the ’706 patent”) invalid as obvious. Specifically, the…