Institution Decisions

Subscribe to Institution Decisions

On April 7, 2020, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) designated one decision as precedential and four decisions as informative, all relating to the topic of prior-art status.  Overall, the precedential decision clarifies the different standards for establishing a reference as a printed publication in IPRs versus patent examination, and the informative decisions provide examples of factual scenarios meeting and failing to meet the “threshold showing” for printed-publication status at the IPR institution stage.  A summary of each decision is below.
Continue Reading The Threshold Showing Of Prior Art Status: PTAB’s New Precedential and Informative Decisions

In a decision denying institution of inter partes review rendered on February 5, 2020 , the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) stated “there is no general rule that efficacy language in a claim is non-limiting.” Gilead Sciences, Inc. v. United States, IPR2019-01455, Paper 16 at 26.  The decision held, inter alia, that whether efficacy language in a claim should be given patentable weight is a fact-based inquiry that includes examining the application as whole and the patent record.  Id. at 26, 30.  When the claims at issue have been granted in a patent that issued from a continuation application, the patent record includes that of the parent patent (e.g., and, if applicable, any grandparent) or parent patent application.
Continue Reading PTAB States “There is No General Rule that Efficacy Language in a Claim is Non-Limiting”

It has become a significant open question in inter partes review proceedings what a petitioner must do to establish a reference as a printed publication. In a decision designated Precedential on December 20, 2019 (Hulu, LLC v. Sound View Innovations, LLC, IPR2018-1039) the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“the Board”) provided practitioners with guidance regarding “what is required for a petition to establish that an asserted reference qualifies as a ‘printed publication’ at the institution stage.” Paper 29 at 6. The decision held, inter alia, that at the institution stage the “reasonable likelihood” standard applies to printed publications, and that the inquiry, as during other stages of the proceedings, is based on the totality of the evidence. Id. at 14-17.
Continue Reading PTAB states the “reasonable likelihood” standard applies to demonstrating public accessibility at the institution stage

Today, the PTAB’s Precedential Opinion Panel issued a precedential decision holding that even a deficient pleading triggers the one-year IPR filing period.  GoPro, Inc. v. 360Heros, Inc., IPR2018-01754 (PTAB Aug. 23, 2019) (Paper 38). 
Continue Reading PTAB Issues Precedential GoPro Decision That Even Service Of “Deficient” Complaint Starts IPR Time Clock

Previously, Emily Greb posted on the Supreme Court’s decision in SAS Inst. Inc. v. Iancu, Dir. U.S. Pat. & Trademark Off., 138 S. Ct. 1348 (2018), which held that when the Board institutes an inter partes review, it must decide the patentability of all claims challenged in the IPR.

Now, Emily and Tyler Bowen, with assistance from Gene W. Lee, Bryan D. Beel, and Maria A. Stubbings, have published a short research paper entitled The Supreme Court’s SAS Decision: Has All-Or-Nothing Institution Created A Wave Of Change? [PDF]
Continue Reading The Effect Of SAS Institute v. Iancu On IPR Practice

On February 20, 2019, the PTAB held that the statutory grace period for PTO papers and fees due on a weekend or federal holiday applies to the one-year deadline for filing IPR petitions under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b). Under longstanding PTO practice, the Office has accepted filings after a formal deadline if that deadline fell on a weekend or federal holiday and the filing is completed on the next
Continue Reading PTAB Applies Statutory Grace Period for Weekends and Holidays to IPR Petitions

IPR petitioners Proppant Express Investments, LLC and Proppant Express Solutions, LLC (collectively, “PropX”) have a pending instituted inter partes review (IPR) on certain claims of U.S. Patent No. 9,511,929 (“the ’929 patent”).  Unfortunately for PropX, it mistakenly grouped its arguments against one of the dependent claims—claim 4—into the wrong ground, which led the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) to deny institution of IPR of that claim, due to inadequate support.  IPR2017-02103, Paper 19 at 32, 34.  After institution, PropX sought to amend the petition to move claim 4 into the proper ground.  The Board denied PropX’s request because PropX was not diligent: despite Patent Owner’s (“Oren”) Preliminary Response pointing out PropX’s mistake, PropX failed to notice the mistake until after institution.  IPR2017-02103, Paper 22.
Continue Reading PTAB Holds that 35 U.S.C. § 315(c) Prevents Same-Party Joinder of Issues to An Instituted IPR

Two recent decisions from the PTAB and Federal Circuit signal inter partes review (“IPR”) petitioners to be cautious of approaching too closely the one-year time bar set forth in 35 U.S.C. § 315(b). First, on August 14, 2018, the PTAB denied institution of a petition that had been filed more than one year after a related district court complaint had been mailed, but within a year from its receipt. Vizio, Inc. v. ATI Techs. ULC, IPR2018-00560, Paper 7 (PTAB Aug. 14, 2018). Then, on August 16, 2018, the Federal Circuit held that a complaint could trigger the one-year time bar even if that complaint had been dismissed without prejudice. Click-to-Call Techs., LP v. Ingenio, Inc., No. 15–1242, 2018 WL 3893119, at *4 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 16, 2018). These decisions reiterate the need for IPR petitioners served with a complaint to approach the one-year bar cautiously when deciding target IPR filing dates.
Continue Reading Cautionary Tale to IPR Petitioners: Avoid Time Bar Pitfalls

On August 13, 2018, the PTO published a public notice announcing the first update to the Office Patent Trial Practice Guide since its original introduction in August 2012. The update adds or substantially revises several procedural guidelines for trial proceedings—most notably, the Board will now permit sur-replies under the standard scheduling order in most cases. The update also addresses the role of expert testimony, motions to exclude and motions to strike, live testimony at oral hearing, and factors affecting the Board’s discretion to decline institution.

The August 2018 update to the Trial Practice Guide is available here, and the original 2012 Trial Practice Guide remains available here.

Details on key provisions in the Trial Practice Guide update are provided below.
Continue Reading PTAB Issues Substantial Updates to the Patent Trial Practice Guide