Year: 2017
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PTAB Expanded Panel Decides Sovereign Immunity Is Waived For District Court Patent Assertions by State Entities
Sovereign immunity has been a topic of great debate ever since the Patent Trial and Appeal Board applied it to dismiss inter partes reviews (IPRs) involving state owned patent rights. In Covidien v. University of Florida Research Foundation the Board dismissed three IPRs based on sovereign immunity. (IPR2016-01274, -01275, -01276.) Other universities caught wind of the Covidien decision…
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PTAB Boardside Chat Provides Statistics About Multiple IPR Petition Filings
On October 24, 2017, PTAB Chief Judge David Ruschke and Lead Judge William Saindon conducted a webinar covering filing statistics for IPR petition filings, and in particular how multiple petitions have fared statistically in the PTAB. They also announced three informative decisions relating to the 35 USC § 325(d) issue: IPR2016-01571 – Unified Patents, Inc. v. Berman IPR2017-00739…
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10 Minute Webinar on IPR Claim Amendments In View of Aqua Products
If you are interested in knowing more about amendments in IPR proceedings and the practical impact of the Federal Circuit’s en banc Aqua Products decision, click here to view a brief 10 minute presentation.
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Federal Circuit’s Aqua Products Decision Clarifies Burden on IPR Petitioner to Challenge Amended Claims
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in Adjudicative instead of examinatorial, Broadest Reasonable Interpretation standard, claim challenges, estoppel from administrative proceeding, Federal Circuit Review of PTAB Proceedings, Motion to Amend, preponderance of evidence, reexamination generally, Settlements in Post-Grant Proceedings, Termination of Post-Grant ProceedingsOn October 4, 2017, the Federal Circuit issued a lengthy decision in Aqua Products v. Matal, spanning five opinions and 148 pages, which addressed the proper allocation of the burden of proof when amended claims are offered during inter partes review proceedings (“IPRs”). Aqua Prods. v. Matal, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 19293. The case concerns U.S. Patent No. 8,273,183, relating to…
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Shire’s Granted Motion to Amend Offers Additional Insight Into PTAB Amendment Practice
When a patent undergoes review at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”), the Patent Owner has an opportunity to file a motion to amend claims so that a substitute claim can be proposed for each claim sought to be amended. Stakeholders, and even some jurists, have been critical of the PTAB for denying the majority…
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Best Practices and Strategies for Patent Procurement and Enforcement Webinar Series
Looking for a holistic view of best practices and strategies for patent procurement and enforcement? You are invited to attend a free, two-part webinar on best patent practices. Click this link to register. I will be co-presenting with Christopher Larus of Robins Kaplan to offer best practices for patent generation and patent enforcement. Each webinar is…
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PTAB Narrows Its Preliminary Claim Interpretation To Uphold Cellular Patent
In July, 2014 Ericsson Inc. and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (“Ericsson”) petitioned for inter partes review of claims 1, 2, 8-12 and 18-22 of U.S. Patent No. 7,787,431 owned by Intellectual Ventures II LLC (“IV”). In February, 2015, the Board instituted trial on claims 1 and 2 based on obviousness grounds, but denied institution of obviousness…
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Are Patent-Friendly PTAB Decisions On the Rise?
Patent litigation changed with passage of the America Invents Act. Overnight the PTAB became a new venue for challenging patent claims using IPRs, CBMs and PGRs. The initial reaction by the patent bar to the PTAB’s “take charge” approach to instituting review and canceling patent claims was met with approval by businesses under attack by…
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PTAB Dismisses Three IPR Petitions Based on Sovereign Immunity
Covidien LP had a license to U.S. Patent 7,062,251, owned by the University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF, Patent Owner). UFRF alleged breach of contract by Covidien, and sued Covidien in Florida state court for breach of license. Covidien counterclaimed for a declaratory judgment that it does not infringe the ’251 patent, and removed the…