Category: Patent & Other IP Offices
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USPTO Director Squires extends 14-day deadline for Director Review of institution decisions to 30 days – or more “in exceptional circumstances”
He noted that “changed circumstances can surface after the deadline… has elapsed but before trial has progressed meaningfully” and that sua sponte Director Review is “not always the most efficient process”.
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Lessons for prior art search providers as Federal Circuit again sides with Valve in appeal over game controller patent
“Something more is required” for estoppel when a classification search returns tens of thousands of results; while forward-and-backward citation searches may result in hindsight bias.
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Verizon hit with $190M jury verdict in infringement suit brought by Aspen Networks over Wi-Fi/cell switching; AT&T, T-Mobile up next
Aspen Networks sued the three U.S. mobile service providers in the Eastern District of Texas in late 2023.
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TCL’s China Star transferred hundreds of patents to Texan PAE suing LG and Hisense
Updated USPTO records confirm what appears to be the first assignment to a patent assertion entity by TCL and its affiliates since withdrawing from LOT Network.
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USPTO Director goes against the grain, sides with inter partes review petitioner Tesla to reject discretionary denial request
After a raft of decisions and memoranda effectively telling IPR petitioners what they shouldn’t do, Director John Squires highlights a potential pathway to successful institution.
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PTAB invalidates final Centripetal patent tied to vacated $1.9 billion Cisco verdict
The PTAB on remand found several of the patent-at-issue’s claims obvious over a single prior art reference, ruling that even credible evidence of copying by Cisco couldn’t overcome a “strong case of obviousness” where the prior art was “essentially anticipatory”.
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EPO appellate ruling highlights uncertainty over need to address all auxiliary requests
A newly published EPO appeal decision supports allowing opponents to defer arguments against unexamined auxiliary requests, highlighting continuing uncertainty in Board of Appeal case law.
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EPO board of appeal refers major claim-construction, added-matter, and referral questions to Enlarged Board of Appeal
A Technical Board of Appeal 3.3.05 has referred fundamental questions on claim interpretation and added matter to the Enlarged Board of Appeal, while also asking whether the EBA’s traditionally restrictive approach to accepting referrals should be reconsidered.
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USPTO launches expedited examination pilot aimed at incentivizing small business, research sector participation in standard-setting
While laudable, it isn’t clear that the SPARK Pilot Program can significantly move the needle.
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German innovative strength has significantly weakened due to insufficient investment in R&D, report reveals
China has taken ownership of more than 11,300 patents developed in Germany over the past two decades, and that number is likely to keep increasing, according to a study by the German Economic Institute (IW).