Posts Tagged: "Robert Stoll"

In an opinion authored by Justice Ginsburg, the Supreme Court ruled today that Section 314 (d) of the U.S. Patent Act, which bars judicial review of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decisions to institute inter partes review (IPR), should preclude appeals of PTAB institution decisions, even where the appeal is based on Section 315(b)’s one-year time-bar for institution. “Congress designed inter partes review to weed out bad patent claims efficiently,” wrote the Court in today’s decision. “Allowing §315(b) appeals, however, would unwind agency proceedings determining patentability and leave bad patents enforceable.” Despite Click-to-Call’s argument that the bar on appeals under Section 314(d) is limited to the agency’s threshold determination under §314(a) of the question whether the petitioner has a reasonable likelihood of prevailing, the Court explained that Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC v. Lee “is fatal to that interpretation.”

Inequitable conduct is practically the stuff of ghost stories among patent practitioners. You must satisfy your duty of candor to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or the patent – all the claims – will be worthless. Since Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co., 649 F.3d 1276 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (en banc) ushered in the “but-for” materiality standard, some patent practitioners may have become too complacent and willing to take a chance. Who will find out? A recent decision in Deep Fix, LLC v. Marine Well Containment Co. LLC (S.D.Tx. Feb. 18, 2020) may have patent prosecutors reviewing their files and even filing a request for supplemental examination or two.