On February 28, 2022, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) issued a decision on priority in an interference proceeding between the Broad Institute, Inc., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and President and Fellows of Harvard College (collectively, “Broad”) and the Regents of the University of California, University of Vienna, and Emmanuelle Charpentier (collectively, “CVC”), and held that Broad’s inventors were the first to invent the subject matter of Count 1 of the interference,[1] a CRISPR-Cas9 system with a single guide RNA able to cleave or edit DNA to affect gene expression in a eukaryotic cell. The Regents of the University of California v. The Broad Institute, Inc., Interference No. 106,115, Decision on Priority at 2, 4 (PTAB Feb. 28, 2022).
Continue Reading PTAB Declares that Broad Institute, MIT, and Harvard Inventors Were First to Invent a CRISPR-Cas Gene Editing System to Alter Gene Expression in Eukaryotic Cells

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) recently designated two decisions as informative regarding discretionary denials of institution: Apple Inc. v. Fintiv, Inc., Case IPR2020-00019, Paper 15 (May 13, 2020), and Sand Revolution II, LLC v. Continental Intermodal Group – Trucking LLC, Case IPR2019-01393, Paper 24 (June 16, 2020).  These decisions show how the Board applied the Fintiv factors established in its recent Precedential Order to determine whether co-pending district court litigation should result in a discretionary denial of institution under AIA 35 U.S.C. § 314(a).
Continue Reading New PTAB Informative Decisions: Applying the Fintiv Factors in View of Parallel District Court Litigation

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“the Board”) recently provided guidance to practitioners on its discretion to deny institution under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d) and § 314(a) by designating three decisions as informative or precedential.[1]  Under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d), the Board may deny institution of inter partes review (“IPR”) because “the same or substantially the same prior art or arguments previously were presented to the Office.” Advanced Bionics, LLC v. MED-EL Elektromedizinische Geräte GmbH, IPR2019-01469, Paper 6 (PTAB Feb. 13, 2020) (precedential), Oticon Med. AB v. Cochlear Ltd., IPR2019-00975, Paper 15 (PTAB Oct. 16, 2019) (precedential), and PUMA N. Am., Inc. v. NIKE, Inc., IPR2019-01042, Paper 10 (PTAB Oct. 31, 2019) (informative) all provide guidance related to § 325(d).  Under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a), the Board may deny institution as an exercise of its discretion in certain circumstances, such as when parallel proceedings are underway.  In Oticon, the Board also addressed the parallel proceedings issue under § 314(a).

In Advanced Bionics, the Board denied institution under § 325(d), set forth a two-part framework for applying § 325(d), and explained how the factors from Becton, Dickinson & Co. v. B. Braun Melsungen AG, IPR2017-01586, Paper 8 (Dec. 15, 2017) (precedential as to § III.C.5, first paragraph) (“Becton, Dickinson”) fit into the two-part framework.

In Oticon, however, the Board refused to exercise its discretion under § 325(d) and instituted the proceeding over similar arguments by a patent owner. While it did not characterize the § 325(d) inquiry as a two-part analysis, and it grouped the Becton, Dickinson factors into three categories, the Board focused on the same two issues: (1) whether the same or substantially similar prior art and arguments were previously considered, and (2) whether the Patent Office erred in its prior assessment of the art. The Board also rejected a request to deny institution under § 314(a) and distinguished an earlier precedential ruling, NHK Spring Co. v. Intri-Plex Techs., Inc., IPR2018-00752, slip op. at 19–20 (PTAB Sept. 12, 2018) (Paper 8) (precedential) (“NHK”), in which institution was denied because of a parallel district court proceeding.

In PUMA, the Board denied institution under § 325(d) after analyzing the Becton, Dickinson factors and finding the same prior art was previously considered and the petitioner did not persuasively demonstrate the examiner materially erred in evaluating the prior art during prosecution.

This is a longer read, but worthwhile, given the importance of the issues.  As detailed in the following summaries, the rulings collectively show the fact-specific nature of the § 325(d) and § 314(a) inquiries. The Board will assess the prior-art teachings considered in prosecution and earlier Board proceedings, will compare those to the teachings asserted in the petition, will carefully compare the disclosures of supposedly duplicative prior art, and will assess the issues and progress of parallel district court cases. Litigants should be prepared for this level of scrutiny and establish the needed records on the prior art teachings and parallel district court cases.
Continue Reading Recent Precedential and Informative Decisions Clarify Standard for Discretionary Denials of Institution

On August 27, 2018, the Federal Circuit in Ericsson Inc. v. Intellectual Ventures I LLC, vacated the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (“PTAB”) final written decision in an inter partes review (IPR) and remanded for the PTAB to properly consider all portions of the petitioner’s reply.  No. 17-1521, slip op. at 13 (Aug. 27, 2018).
Continue Reading Arguments in Reply that Expand on Previously Argued Rationale Should Be Considered by the PTAB

Blackbird Tech LLC sued ELB Electronics for infringing a patent claim related to retrofitting existing light fixtures with a more energy-efficient lighting apparatus. Blackbird Tech LLC v. ELB Electronics, Inc., No. 17-1703, slip op. at 3 (Fed. Cir. July 16, 2018). The asserted claim read as follows:

Continue Reading Federal Circuit Rejects Importing Claim Limitation in Blackbird Tech LLC v. ELB Electronics, Inc.

In view of the Federal Circuit’s April 13, 2018 decision in Vanda Pharms. Inc. v. West-Ward Pharms., 877 F.3d 1117(Fed. Cir. 2018), regarding subject matter patent eligibility, the USPTO issued a memorandum on June 7, 2018, to “address[] the limited question of how to evaluate the patent eligibility of ‘method of treatment’ claims” and announce modifications to life sciences example 29 of the PTO’s current patent-eligibility guidance. Memo at 3.
Continue Reading USPTO’s Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance Evolves After Vanda Pharms. Inc. v. West-Ward Pharms.