In a recent Law360 article, Knobbe Martens litigation chair Sheila Swaroop shared insight on the impact of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal’s recent decisions on whether defendants involved in court-ordered consolidated litigation can file separate patent challenges with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
The article covers Director Vidal’s order to vacate the PTAB’s denial to review patent challenges in American Honda Motor Co., Inc. v. Neo Wireless LLC. According to the article, a key element of Director Vidal’s decision was that the petitioners’ involvement in consolidated litigation did not constitute a relationship that precluded them from being heard before the PTAB. Speaking to this point, Swaroop said a relationship among the defendants could be established by “something more akin to a licensing deal between the parties.” She further explained that the Director’s rulings are defining “what the contours are to establish that significant relationship” between petitioners that could support a discretionary denial.
Read the full article here [subscription required].
