PTAB Procedural Decisions Report: Non-Merits Based Decisions Rise, Denials Fall — Unified Patents

It was another year of hundreds of procedural denials at the PTAB, as many as any other previous year, save 2020’s record high.  At the same time, the Board ruled on Fintiv and discretionary issues in almost half of all decisions. he dip in the...

A Whole Lot of “Cobbl[e]”-ty Gook After Wertheim

Holding: In Indivior UK Ltd. v. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories S.A., No. 20-2073 (Fed. Cir. 2021), the Federal Circuit issued an opinion (“Majority Opinion”) affirming a decision

Shots Fired: Challenger Must Have Requisite Standing Before Appealing Unfavorable IPR Decisions | JD Supra

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found, in the context of an appeal from an inter partes review (IPR) decision, that the appellant had...

USPTO Third Party Submissions

UPDATED TO FIX MY MATH ERROR: I posted some statistics on references cited in recently issued patents. That raised some …

$2,000 for eSignature prior art — Unified Patents

On January 26, 2022, Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 8,065,527 . The patent is owned by eSignature, LLC, an NPE. The '527 generally relates to a system...

$12,000 for Atlantic IP Services sub, Speir Technologies, prior art — Unified Patents

On January 28, 2022, Unified added 6 new PATROLL contests, with a $2,000 cash prize for each, seeking prior art on the list below. The patents are owned by Speir Technologies, an Atlantic IP Services subsidiary. The contests will all end on...

Case: Patents/Obviousness (P.T.A.B.)

Challenged claims of Engle Grange LLC’s patent directed to a keyless ignition start system in which authentication of a coded key fob is carried out twice are unpatentable, the PTAB held, in an inter partes review by Unified Patents LLC. Unified...

$28,000 for IP Investments Group sub, DataCloud, prior art — Unified Patents

On January 24, 2022, Unified added 14 new PATROLL contests, with a $2,000 cash prize for each, seeking prior art on the list below. The patents are owned by DataCloud, LLC, an NPE and subsidiary of IP Investments Group. The contests will all end...

The EPO Needs High-Calibre Examiners, Not Politicians Who Pretend to Understand Patents and Science

Examiners are meant to obstruct fake patents or reject meritless patent applications; why is it that working conditions deteriorate for those who are intellectually equipped to do the job?

PTAB Discretionary Denials Escape High Court Review - Law360

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to review a highly controversial U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rule allowing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to deny patent challenges based on the timing of related litigation.

beDRP: admissibility and probative value of documents from the Wayback Machine

Are web archives stored in Wayback machines (including Archive.org) admissible in legal proceedings and, if so, what would be their probative value? Lawyers specializing in settlement of disputes r…

Engle Grange patent held invalid — Unified Patents

On January 19, 2022, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) issued a final written decision in Unified Patents, LLC v. Engle Grange, LLC holding all challenged claims of U.S. Patent 8,548,645 invalid. The ‘645 patent is generally directed...

Federal Circuit Affirms Invalidity of Method of Treatment Patent for Lack of Written Description in Hatch-Waxman Case

On November 30, 2021, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Northern District of West Virginia’s invalidity finding as to a method-of-treatment patent, based on a lack of written description. Plai

The New Separation of Powers Formalism and Administrative Adjudication

Mazda Is Back With Another Rotary Patent! This Time For A 3-Rotor Hybrid Design - The Fast Lane Car

It's a new year, and with it we have another patent filing from Mazda, covering a new hybrid rotary design.

AutoBrilliance patent challenged as first US reexam in new Unified V2X Zone — Unified Patents

On January 10, 2022, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination against U.S. Patent 6,615,137 , owned and asserted by AutoBrilliance, LLC, an NPE. The ‘137 patent is generally directed to inter-vehicle communication systems and methods for...

$2,000 for AutoBrilliance prior art — Unified Patents

On January 13, 2022, Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 7,337,650 . The patent is owned by AutoBrilliance, LLC, an NPE. The '650 patent generally relates...