IP Blog
USPTO Post-Issue Proceedings
PTAB Invalidates Telehealth Patent as Anticipated, Rejects Indefiniteness Challenges, in PG Review
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board recently invalidated a patent related to remote optometry in a Post-Grant Review proceeding. 20_20 Vision Center, LLC v. DigitalOptometrics LLC, PGR2018-00100 (April 15, 2020). The PTAB invalidated the patent as anticipated by an earlier remote-optometry patent, but the challenges for indefiniteness and lack of enablement were rejected. The petition for review by the PTAB...
State Universities Not Entitled to Sovereign Immunity from IPRs
Sovereign immunity does not exempt state governments from inter partes review, according to a Federal Circuit decision issued on Friday in Regents of the University of Minnesota v. LSI Corp. The decision extends the Federal Circuit’s earlier decision in Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals that Native American tribes cannot rely on sovereign immunity against an IPR. This case...
Supreme Court Upholds IPRs in Oil States
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court released its opinion in Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, holding that the inter partes review procedure does not violate Article III of the Constitution. The Court maintained the status quo, and IPRs are still a viable route for defending against or attacking a patent. The path to the Supreme Court...