The PTAB has designated five new decisions as informative, three on IPR practice procedure and two ex parte decisions (one on issue preclusion and one on claim construction): Ariosa Diagnostics v. Isis Innovation Ltd., IPR2012-00022, Paper 55 (PTAB Aug. 7, 2013) Here the Board provides guidance on foreign depositions, both on the location where they […] On July 1, 2018, the IP5 (Patent Offices for the US, the EU, Japan, Korea, and China) launched a new pilot program, PCT CS&E, testing collaborative search and examination for the PCT. The Pilot Program is currently scheduled to take a total of three years. In years one and two the IP5 will be conducting […] July 2, 2018 (Alexandria, VA) Maier & Maier PLLC is proud to announce its newest addition to the firm, Stephen Kunin, the former Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As an expert in patent law for over 48 years, Mr. Kunin is a highly respected member of […] The Patent Trial Appeal Board (PTAB) recently reversed an examiner’s 101 Alice rejection in Ex Parte Jadran Bandic, and in so doing, provided insight into how the PTO will administer Director Iancu’s 101 Guidance Memo. The PTAB found the examiner’s analysis in Step One of the Alice rejection only considered limited portions of the claim […] Two Supreme Court Decisions came down April 24, 2018 with potentially significant impacts on patent practice. First, in Oil States v. Greene’s Energy, the Court rejected Oil States’ Article III and 7th Amendment challenges to inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, declaring the proceedings constitutional under the public rights doctrine. Second, the Court ruled that Patent […] Two new pieces of legislation were introduced in the past few weeks, one each in the House and the Senate, and both could have drastic implications for PTAB practice. The PACED Act, introduced in the Senate, would eliminate Tribal Immunity as a defense for all Patent Owners in proceedings before the Patent Office. The STRONGER […] Last fall, Maier & Maier highlighted a new defense strategy for Patent Owners against IPR (Inter Partes Review) Petitions in an overview of the ongoing Allergan “Tribal Immunity” Proceeding. In sum, Allergan transferred their patent portfolio to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (“Tribe”) in upstate New York, paying them a lump sum and royalties in […] Last fall, Maier & Maier highlighted a new defense strategy for Patent Owners against IPR (Inter Partes Review) Petitions in an overview of the ongoing Allergan “Tribal Immunity” Proceeding. In sum, Allergan transferred their patent portfolio to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (“Tribe”) in upstate New York, paying them a lump sum and royalties in […] The internationally recognized Maier & Maier PLLC law firm won a major IPR victory for Foxrun Development securing a non-institution decision from the PTAB, overcoming 4 challenges to their network security patent asserted by Terralink in IPR2017-02102. The patent reviewed (9,460,319 B1) relates to enhancing computer network security by physically blocking unused computer ports with […] In Actelion Pharms., Inc. v. Matal, the USPTO granted a Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) of 40 days for Actelion’s patent relating to pyridine derivatives. The patent at issue was a national stage application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Actelion contended that it should have been entitled to either 41 days from the 30-month deadline […]