IRVINE, Calif., July 26, 2024 – In a decision announced today following a sua sponte review, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director Kathi Vidal affirmed sanctions against Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics in a long-running dispute against Spectrum Solutions LLC regarding Covid-19 testing.
Knobbe Martens partner Ali Razai led the team representing Spectrum Solutions throughout the matter.
In March 2023, Mr. Razai and the team secured a complete and unprecedented victory for Spectrum Solutions in inter partes review (IPR) challenges of five separate patents owned by Longhorn. In an Order granting Spectrum’s Motion for Sanctions, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) found that Longhorn “committed an egregious abuse of the PTAB process” during the IPR proceedings and—in an unprecedented sanction—cancelled all 183 claims across the five challenged patents. (Read more here.)
In today’s decision upholding the sanctions against Longhorn, Director Vidal affirmed for the first time that cancellation of patents is a potential sanction for misconduct—an action that, prior to this case, had never been taken in an IPR proceeding. In the decision, Director Vidal stated: “I have determined that Patent Owner’s counsel orchestrated a scheme to deliberately conceal relevant factual evidence and intentionally mislead the Board in violation of Board rules throughout trial, amounting to particularly egregious misconduct.”
Commenting on the decision, Mr. Razai stated, “Although it was a difficult decision to seek sanctions, the Director’s decision confirms and provides practitioners certainty that violation of the PTAB’s rules are not without consequence.”
The decision marked the first time since Congress enacted the IPR process that the PTAB has cancelled all claims of a patent based on the patent owner’s “unwarranted disregard relating to its duty of disclosure and fair dealing before [the PTAB].”
A copy of Director Vidal’s decision may be found here.
In addition to Mr. Razai, the Knobbe Martens team representing Spectrum included Joe Jennings, Paul Conover, Ben Anger, Nicholas Zovko, William Adams, Nathanael Luman, Brandon Smith, Nick Belair, and Brian Barnes.
About Knobbe Martens
Knobbe Martens is one of the most highly respected intellectual property law firms, offering all aspects of intellectual property and technology law. The firm’s litigation group handles cases throughout the U.S. and coordinates strategy for disputes worldwide. Founded in California in 1962, the firm has about 300 lawyers and scientists based in offices located in Orange County, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. Knobbe Martens serves a diverse international client base, from multinational corporations to emerging businesses of all stages. More information about the firm can be found at www.knobbe.com.
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