Posts Tagged: "derivation proceedings"

Patent Office Updates the Trial Practice Guide

The Patent Office has begun a planned series of updates to the Practice Guide, with the first such update having been released in August 2018. The August 2018 Practice Guide updates are intended to bring the Practice Guide into conformance with the Patent Office’s current view on best practices. Importantly, these updates do not generally reflect new practices, but rather appear to gather in one place the analysis used by existing PTAB decisions in determining commonly disputed procedural issues.

Margaux Savee & Suni Sukduang & James Murphy

September 26, 2018

Derivation requires showing conception and communication of idea from claimed invention, not an obvious variant

Mylan had to show by clear and convincing evidence that the idea for the ’445 patent claim was conceived by someone at the FDA and communicated to Mr. Pavliv, the named inventor. The Court agreed with the district court that Mylan did not carry the burden of showing that someone other than Mr. Pavliv had conceived a “definite and permanent idea” of an EDTA-free Acetadote formulation. Mylan argued that Mr. Pavliv’s prior communications with the FDA, including the FDA’s request for justification of the inclusion of EDTA, required Cumberland to undertake research that would have inevitably led to the invention. However, this was not the same as a suggestion to remove EDTA. Derivation is not proved by showing conception and communication of an idea different from the claimed invention, even if that idea would make the claimed idea obvious.

Robert Schaffer & Joseph Robinson

February 3, 2017

PTO Seeks Comment on AIA Post Grant Administrative Trials

The administrative trial proceedings created by the AIA are: (1) Inter partes review; (2) post-grant review; (3) covered business method patents review; and (4) derivation proceedings. To bring these new proceedings into being, the USPTO issued a number of final rules and a trial practice guide in August and September of 2012. It is now time for the USPTO to take a step back and take account of these new proceedings, aided by public input. This is not an unexpected occurrence. Many will recall that during the rule making phase the USPTO held roundtable discussions in a number of cities across the country. During this timeframe the USPTO committed to revisiting the rules and practice guide once the Board and public had operated under the rules and practice guide for some unspecified period of time and had gained experience with the new administrative trial proceedings. With nearly two years of practical experience with these new proceedings, the time has now come for the USPTO to revisit and quite possibly revise the rules.

Gene Quinn

August 20, 2014

David Kappos Headlines Post-Grant Patent Trial Program in NY

A new addition to the program just announced today is David Kappos, who is the immediate former Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Kappos, a life-long employee of IBM prior to taking charge of the USPTO, is now with Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York City. Kappos will discuss the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, specifically discussing ex parte reexamination, the remaining legacy inter partes reexamination cases, inter partes review and the transitional program relating to covered business method patents. His segment will run from 9:15 am to 10:15 am. In addition to being presented live in New York City the program will also be webcast.

Gene Quinn

March 21, 2013

First Inventor to File: USPTO Derivation Proceedings Go Final

Section 42.405(c) provides that a derivation is not sufficiently shown unless it is supported by substantial evidence. This includes at least one affidavit addressing communication and lack of authorization. Further, the showing of
communication must be corroborated. One open practical question is whether derivation proceedings will be at all useful. How will the inventor alleging derivation be in possession of sufficient evidence to demonstrate communication and lack of authorization? The best evidence of each will be in the hands of the party who is the alleged deriver, not the inventor claiming to be the source of the invention. Moreover, proving a negative (i.e., lack of authorization) may be challenging, as proving a negative can always be.

Gene Quinn

September 10, 2012

Change? Derviation May Feel a Lot Like Interference Practice

How this will philosophically change things remains unclear because the America Invents Act requires that the petition filed to institute a derivation proceeding demonstrate that the claimed invention in the subject application or patent was derived from an inventor named in the petitioner’s application without authorization. The Patent Office has also recognized the similarity between derivation proceedings and interference practice, saying: “Petitions to institute derivation proceedings, while distinct from interference practice, raise similar issues to those that may be raised in interferences in a motion for judgment on priority of invention. Currently, motions for judgment on priority of invention, including issues such as conception, corroboration…” See 77 Fed. Reg. 7035 (10 February 2012).

Gene Quinn

April 9, 2012

AIA Proposed Rules: Fees at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board

These proposed fees will undoubtedly be commented on, and the early criticism, which seems quite valid, asks how the addition of a single additional claim to be reviewed can add such large amounts to the cost. For example, if you file a petition for post-grant review and want 30 claims reviewed the fee will be $53,700. If you want 31 claims reviewed the fee will be $71,600, so that extra claim reviewed will cost you $17,900. Of course paying that $17,900 entitles you to bring challenges to 9 other claims, which would be free once you paid for the 31st claim. Essentially, with rigid segmentation of fees it is difficult, if not impossible, to see a cost of recover implementation at work. It would be far more in keeping with the statutory authority to have additional claim fees akin to what happens during prosecution when you go beyond three independent claims or 20 total claims.

Gene Quinn

February 28, 2012

PTO Proposes Rules of Practice for Patent Trials before Board

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has proposed a consolidated set of rules related to trial practice before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The proposed rules implement the provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act relating to inter partes review, post-grant review, the transitional program for covered business method patents, and derivation proceedings.

U.S.P.T.O.

February 9, 2012