Earlier this month, in the precedential decision New Vision Gaming & Development, Inc. v. SG Gaming, Inc., FKA Bally Gaming, Inc., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“the CAFC”) vacated and remanded a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“the Board”) on the ground that the decision issued after the
The USPTO Clarifies its Approach to Indefiniteness in AIA Post-Grant Proceedings
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…
USPTO Rulemaking for Post-Grant Proceedings Open for Public Comments
On May 27, 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) proposed amendments to its rules governing post-grant proceedings, addressing three topics. First, petitions for post-grant proceedings would require institution of all claims or denial of the petition. Second, patent owners would be permitted to file sur-replies to principal briefs. Third, the rules would eliminate…
Court of Appeals Affirms PTAB Decision on Person Eligibility for Post-Issuance Review and Patentable Subject Matter
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its decision in Bozeman Financial LLC v. Federal Reserve Bank Of Atlanta, Case No. 19-1018 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 10, 2020) [hereinafter Bozeman], holding that Federal Reserve banks (hereinafter “the Banks”) are people under the AIA, capable of petitioning for post-issuance review. The Court further…
Burden of Persuasion for Substitute Claims: USPTO Proposes Changes to the Rules of Practice
On October 22, 2019, the USPTO published a Federal Register notice proposing changes to the rules of practice for inter partes review (“IPR”), post-grant review (“PGR”), and covered business method patents (“CBM”) (collectively “post-grant trial”) proceedings regarding burdens of persuasion for motions to amend and the patentability of substitute claims.[1]
Specifically, the Federal Register…
HIGH COURT BENCHES UNCLE SAM IN AIA REVIEW
The Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling today in Return Mail, Inc. v. Postal Service, 587 U.S. ___ (2019), holding that the United States Government is not a “person” eligible to petition for covered-business-method (“CBM”) review, inter partes review (“IPR”), or post-grant review (“PGR”) America Invents Act (“AIA”) proceedings before the…
Bye-Bye BRI: PTAB to Apply District Court Claim Construction Standard in AIA Proceedings
On October 11, 2018, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a change in the claim construction standard used for inter partes review (IPR), post-grant review (PGR) and covered business method (CBM) review. For these proceedings, the claim construction standard will be changed from the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) standard to the standard…
Another Lesson in Timing for Disclaimers in CBM Reviews
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“the Board”) recently held that Customedia Technologies, LLC (“Customedia”) could not moot the CBM proceeding with a post-institution disclaimer of the claims found to recite a financial activity element. Dish Network Corp. v. Customedia Techs., LLC, CBM2017-00023, Paper 48 at 23 (P.T.A.B. June 11, 2018).
A patent is…
Miami International Holdings Files Nearly Half of CBM Petitions Filed So Far This Year
Making up only around 7% of post-grant trials at the PTAB (according to statistics released by the USPTO from February 2018), the number of petitions for Covered Business Method (“CBM”) reviews has experienced a decline every year since its peak in 2014. With 34 filings in 2017,[1] the 16 filed so far this year…
Fees for PTAB Post Grant Proceedings to Jump in January
- Inter Partes Review Request Fee to Jump 72%
- Post-Grant or Covered Business Method Review Request Fee to Jump 33%
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”) announced a new fee structure set to take effect on January 16, 2018. Notably, fees for PTAB proceedings will increase significantly. The USPTO explains that the fee increases are…