Federal Circuit Clarifies Prior Art Effective Date Relative To Provisional
By Charles Kim and Anuja Mehta - The Federal Circuit recently issued a precedential decision in Dental Monitoring SAS v. Align Technology, Inc., vacating and remanding a PTAB final written decision that held Dental Monitoring’s claims unpatentable as obvious. Key...
Director’s View on Discretionary Denials: No “Second Bite at the Apple”
By Bill Devitt, Ashvi Patel, and Maddy Hemphill* - In Magnolia Medical Technologies, Inc. v. Kurin, Inc., IPR2026-00097 (“Decision”), Director Squires issued a precedential decision denying institution of inter partes review (“IPR”)—and in doing so, also provided...
Design Patents at the PTAB: Over a Decade of Data Reveals the Real Odds
By John Evans and Tyler Fertel* - It’s been a decade since we first reported early statistics on design patent IPR/PGR outcomes. Time for an update—and the numbers tell an interesting story. Design patents remain notoriously hard to challenge, with a historical...
Director Sets Forth Institution Factors for Small Businesses and American Manufacturers
By David Linden and Dave Maiorana - Recently, the Director issued a memorandum identifying inter partes review (“IPR”) and post grant review (“PGR”) institution factors designed to promote American innovation and manufacturing. Director Squires noted that Sections...
Director Denies IPR Over Foreign Government RPI Ties
By Hannah Mehrle and Matt Johnson - The Director issued a precedential discretionary denial on the ground that a foreign government entity was an undisclosed real party in interest(“RPI”). The ruling extended Return Mail, Inc. v. United States Postal Service, 587 U.S....