Category: Joinder of Parties Post-petition
-
Target Wins Rehearing of IPR Joinder Decision with Expanded Panel
Last fall, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) interpreted the IPR joinder provision, 35 U.S.C. § 315(c), to require joinder requests by a non-party to an ongoing proceeding. (Target Corp. v. Destination Maternity Corp., IPR2014-00508 and IPR2014-00509.) Prior to that decision, the Board had interpreted § 315(c) to allow for issue joinder by the petitioner of the original proceeding (see, for…
-
Target Corp. Requests Rehearing of Denied IPRs by Expanded PTAB Panel
October 17, 2014 Last month, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) interpreted the IPR joinder provision, 35 U.S.C. § 315(c), to preclude joinder requests by an existing party to an ongoing proceeding. (Target Corp. v. Destination Maternity Corp., IPR2014-00508 and IPR2014-00509.) In these recent decisions, the Board decided that § 315(c) requires “party joinder” and…
-
Patent Office Board Takes a Bite out of Apple’s IPR Challenge of VirnetX Patents
In mid-2013 Apple filed seven inter partes review petitions to challenge four VirnetX patents. Recently, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the Board) denied all seven inter partes review (IPR) petitions. This outcome demonstrates the Board’s current interpretation of the one-year bar applied in IPR proceedings and its position on joinder of petitions. Apple’s Interpretation of the…
-
Joinder in Patent Office Proceedings Clarified by PTAB
Several posts ago we explored how the Board perceived joinder of a subsequent petition filed by a petitioner to an ongoing proceeding. A recent ruling by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) clarifies how the Board views joinder of new parties to pending post-grant proceedings. U.S. Bancorp filed a covered business method petition on March…