PTO Codifies Scope of Director Review in Final Rule
By Evan Tassis and Matt Johnson - On September 30, 2024, the USPTO issued a final rule governing the process for Director Review of proceedings under the AIA. This formalized the USPTO’s interim Director Review procedures implemented by the USPTO following the...
PTAB Deems Rule Set File A Printed Publication
By Carl Kukkonen - The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in an inter partes review: Keysight Technologies, Inc. and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. v. Centripetal Networks, LLC found a rule set file used by a network security program to be a “printed publication” under §...
PTO Promotes Judicial Independence in Final PTAB Rule
By Lauren Kim and Matt Johnson - On June 12, 2024, the USPTO issued a final rule governing the pre-issuance circulation and review of decisions within the PTAB. This formalized current USPTO procedures within the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP4) adopted on October...
Director Vacates Decision Based on Improper Claim Construction
By Hannah Mehrle and Matt Johnson - The PTAB denied institution of inter partes review reasoning that Petitioner did not demonstrate a reasonable likelihood that Petitioner would prevail in establishing the unpatentability of any of the challenged claims. The...
PTAB Issues First Post-LKQ Design Patent Decision
By Connor Scholes and John Evans - On August 6, 2024, the PTAB issued its first written decision applying a new test for obviousness of design patents. In Next Step Group, Inc. v. Deckers Outdoor Corp., IPR2024-00525, Paper 16 (P.T.A.B. Aug. 6, 2024) (“Decision”), the...