Federal Circuit decided 961 appeals from the PTAB in IPRs, CBMs, and PGRs. While the vast majority of these appeals came from IPRs, the number of PGR appeals has slowly increased over time, partially offsetting a decline in the number of CBM appeals.
In University of Strathclyde v. Clear-Vu Lighting LLC, the Federal Circuit reversed the USPTO PTAB decision finding certain method claims obvious, because the evidence did not support the PTAB’s finding.
The University of Strathclyde recently found relief at the Federal Circuit when a unanimous panel reversed the PTAB's final determination that their method patent for photoinactivating MRSA bacteria was obvious. University of Strathclyde v. Clear-Vu Lighting LLC
In Apple, Inc. v. Iancu, Judge Davila dismissed a lawsuit brought by tech companies who had asked to set aside the NHK-Fintiv rule, which allows PTAB to consider various factors when determining whether to institute review of a patent that is asserted in ongoing litigation.
In June, a relatively favorable month for patent owners, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board issued 35 IPR, CBM, and PGR Final Written Decisions including decisions following remands from the Federal Circuit, cancelling 258 instituted claims while maintaining the patentability of 247.