- Eunsung Global Corp. v. Hydrafacial LLCInstitution deniedPTAB · Apr 11, 2025 · IPR2024-01491 · APJ Jamie T Wisz · IPR · Institution
The Board denied institution on all challenged claims under § 314(a), finding that the advanced ITC proceeding and substantial overlap made review inefficient.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Discretionary denial › Fintiv (parallel litigation)Institution denied fintivInstitution denied
“When determining whether to exercise discretion to deny institution in view of a parallel litigation, we consider the following factors: 1. whether the court granted a stay or evidence exists that one may be granted if a proceeding is instituted; 2. proximity of the court’s trial date to the Board’s projected statutory deadline for a final written decision; 3. investment in the parallel proceeding by the court and the parties; parallel proceeding; 5. whether the petitioner and the defendant in the parallel proceeding are the same party; and 6. other circumstances that impact the Board’s exercise of discretion, including the merits.” slip op. at 9
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“We find that Petitioner’s obviousness challenges meet the standard for institution. We also will not speculate as to whether the other three petitions referenced by Petitioner will be instituted. Taken together with the other” slip op. at 16
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Discretionary denial › §325(d) same art / argumentsNot reached
“B. Discretionary Denial under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d) Patent Owner asserts that we should deny the Petition under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d) because the Petition presents substantially the same art and arguments that the Office previously analyzed and fails to show that the Office erred during prosecution. See Prelim. Resp. 58–68. Because we exercise discretion to deny institution under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a) for the reasons discussed above, we do not need to reach Patent Owner’s argument regarding denial under § 325(d).” slip op. at 17
Discretionary denialPatents in suitUS 11,865,287 - Apple Inc. v. Tracbeam, LLCInstitution deniedPTAB · Feb 19, 2016 · IPR2015-01702 · APJ James A Tartal · IPR · Institution
Instituted review in IPR2015-01703 on specified Loomis grounds for claims 1, 3, 6, 7, 11, 18, 20, 24, 25, 27, 39, 78, 81, 155, 162, 165, and 215; denied institution in IPR2015-01702.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“inter partes review may not be instituted “unless . . . the information presented in the petition . . . shows that there is a reasonable likelihood that the petitioner would prevail with respect to at least 1 of the claims challenged in the petition.” Upon consideration of the Petition and the Preliminary Response, we conclude the information presented shows there is a reasonable likelihood that Petitioner would prevail in showing the unpatentability of claims 1, 3, 6, 7, 11, 18, 20, 24, 25, 27, 39, 78, 81, 155, 162, 165, and 215, but not of claims 17, 40, or 72. Accordingly, we authorize an inter partes review to be instituted only as to claims 1, 3, 6, 7, 11, 18, 20, 24, 25, 27, 39, 78, 81, 155, 162, 165, and 215 of the ’231 patent. Our factual findings and conclusions at this stage of the proceeding are based on the evidentiary record developed thus far (prior to Patent Owner’s Response). This is not a final decision as” slip op. at 2
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successNot reached
“and second location estimation determiners determine geographical indications “independently of one another.” Independent claim 17, similar to claim 40, requires that “wherein the second instance does not depend on a geographical location of the mobile station obtained from information indicative of a distance between the mobile station and at least one of the one or more satellites.” Petitioner’s sole contention with respect to claim 40 and the cited portions of claim 17 is: “Location determiners can be independent of each other. See, e.g., 5:7–9; Figs. 6, 9.” 1703-Pet 39, 44. The portion of Loomis cited by Petitioner states that “[t]he outdoor LD system operates independently of the radio LD signal system, and each of these systems can determine the present location of the user at selected times.” IPR-1703, Ex. 1008, 5:7–9. Thus, Petitioner has shown that the outdoor LD system of Loomis is independent of the radio LD signal system, but has not shown that the radio LD signal system is independent of the outdoor LD system. Accordingly, Petitioner has not shown that the determiners are “independent of each other,” as required by claim 40, or that “second instance does not depend on a geographical location . . . obtained from information indicative of a distance between the mobile station and at least one of the one or more satellites,” as required by claim 17 and claim 72, which depends from claim 17.” slip op. at 15
- Other 314aInstitution denied discretionary other
“E. Additional Grounds We decline to institute an inter partes review of claims 1, 3, 6, 7, 11, 18, 20, 24, 25, 27, 39, 78, 81, 155, 162, 165, and 215 based on Bruno, in combination with Olsson and/or Geier. We also decline to institute an inter partes review of claims 1, 3, 6, 7, 11, 17, 18, 20, 24, 25, 27, 39, 40, 72, 78, 81, 155, 162, 165, and 215 based on Green and Hashimoto, and additional art, as asserted in IPR-1702. Petitioner asserts multiple grounds to each challenged claim of the ’231 patent across two separate petitions, but does not address the duplicative nature of its arguments across petitions. The Board’s rules for AIA inter partes proceedings, including those pertaining to institution, are “construed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive resolution of every proceeding.” 37 C.F.R. § 42.1(b); accord 35 U.S.C. §§ 316(b) (regulations for AIA inter partes proceedings take into account “the efficient administration of the Office” and “the ability of the Office to timely complete [instituted] proceedings”). Because we institute an inter partes review of these claims based on the grounds discussed above, we exercise our discretion not to institute a review based on these grounds for reasons of administrative necessity to ensure timely completion of the instituted proceeding. See 37 C.F.R. § 42.108(a).” slip op. at 23
§ 103 obviousnessDiscretionary denialPatents in suitUS 7,764,231 - Daicel Corporation v. Celanese International CorporationRehearing grantedPTAB · Jun 26, 2015 · IPR2015-00171 · APJ Linda M Gaudette · IPR · Rehearing
Rehearing was granted in part, instituting review of claims 42–44, 47–51, 53, 55, and 56 for anticipation and claim 57 for obviousness.
RulingsRehearing decision- RehearingRehearing, grantedGranted in part
“the Board reviews the decision for an abuse of discretion. 37 C.F.R. § 42.71(c). An abuse of discretion may arise if a decision is based on an erroneous interpretation of law, if a factual finding is not supported by substantial evidence, or if an unreasonable judgment is made in weighing relevant factors. Star Fruits S.N.C. v. U.S., 393 F.3d 1277, 1281 (Fed. Cir. 2005); Arnold P’ship v. Dudas, 362 F.3d 1338, 1340 (Fed. Cir. 2004); In re Gartside, 203 F.3d 1305, 1315-16 (Fed. Cir. 2000). The party requesting rehearing has the burden of showing that the decision should be modified, and “[t]he request must specifically identify all matters the party believes the Board misapprehended or overlooked.” 37 C.F.R. § 42.71(d).” slip op. at 2
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“Because Petitioner has shown Mr. Cooper’s testimony is supported by underlying factual evidence, and is not based solely on an unsupported assumption and the Miura Declaration, we determine Mr. Cooper’s testimony provides persuasive support for Petitioner’s contention that DME is inherently present in an overhead distillation stream of the ’095 patent process, and that claim 42 is anticipated by the ’095 patent. We have also reviewed the Petition’s analysis of dependent claims 43, 44, 47–51, 53, 55, and 56, and conclude Petitioner has provided sufficient explanation and evidence to support a reasonable likelihood that the additional limitations of these claims are described in the ’095 patent. See Pet. 27–35. In sum, at this stage of the proceeding, Petitioner has established a reasonable likelihood that it would prevail on the merits in showing claims 42–44, 47–51, 53, 55, and 56 are anticipated by the ’095 patent. Therefore, the Request for Rehearing is granted and trial is instituted as to this challenge.” slip op. at 5
- Novelty / Anticipation (§102) › Anticipation standard (single reference, every element) › Inherent disclosureReference is prior artInherency foundInstituted
“the Petition, and overlooked the fact that Mr. Cooper’s opinion is also based on his own calculations and data in two published articles. See Ex. 1003 ¶ 99. Specifically, Mr. Cooper approximates reactor DME equilibrium concentrations in the ’095 patent examples and explains how these approximations were obtained using readily available data, specifically identifying data in two published articles. Ex. 1003 ¶ 99 (citing Exs. 1029, 1030). Mr. Cooper goes on to explain why, based on the reactor contents and distillation conditions in the ’095 patent examples, DME and acetaldehyde would be present in the overhead distillation streams. Id. ¶¶ 101–102. Because Petitioner has shown Mr. Cooper’s testimony is supported by underlying factual evidence, and is not based solely on an unsupported assumption and the Miura Declaration, we determine Mr. Cooper’s testimony provides persuasive support for Petitioner’s contention that DME is inherently present in an overhead distillation stream of the ’095 patent process, and that claim 42 is anticipated by the ’095 patent. We have also reviewed the Petition’s analysis of dependent claims 43, 44, 47–51, 53, 55, and 56, and conclude Petitioner has provided sufficient explanation and evidence to support a reasonable likelihood that the additional limitations of these claims are described in the ’095 patent. See Pet. 27–35. In sum, at this stage of the proceeding, Petitioner has established a reasonable likelihood that it would prevail on the merits in showing claims 42–44, 47–51, 53, 55, and 56 are anticipated by the ’095 patent. Therefore, the Request for Rehearing is granted and trial is instituted as to this challenge.” slip op. at 4
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successMotivation not found
“terms, and we agree, for purposes of this decision, that claim 42 does not require a specific quantity of DME in the distillation overhead. We do not agree with Petitioner, however, that the Singh and ’507 patent disclosures are identical with respect to the addition of water to distillation column 22. As indicated in our Decision, both Singh and the ’507 patent describe adding small amounts of water to column 22 for the purpose of inhibiting impurity formation. See Dec. 5–6. The ’507 patent, however, includes additional description of adding water to column 22 for the purpose of producing DME in the distillation overhead. See id. at 7 (citing Ex. 1002, col. 11). This additional description of adding water to produce DME in the distillation overhead does not refer back to the description of adding water as an inhibitor (see Ex. 1002, 10:9–32), or otherwise indicate that the small amounts of water used to inhibit impurity formation in the ’507 patent and Singh processes would produce DME in a distillation overhead. In addition, for the reasons explained in our Decision (Dec. 25–26), Petitioner has not persuaded us that the prosecution history of the ’507 patent includes an admission by Patent Owner that the addition of any amount of water to the distillation step would result in DME in an overhead stream. See Req. Reh’g 10. In sum, Petitioner has not convinced us that our Decision was based on an erroneous claim interpretation or that we overlooked evidence that the addition of any amount of water in the steps common to the Singh and the ’507 patent processes would necessarily result in the presence of DME in a distillation overhead. With respect to Petitioner’s assertions regarding Akinori, we note the Petition relied on Akinori as evidence that DME was necessarily produced in the ’095 patent process. See Pet. 43. Petitioner did not explain how Akinori was relevant to show the presence of DME in the distillation overhead of Singh. For the above reasons, the Request for Rehearing is denied as to the challenge based on Singh in view of the ’095 patent and Akinori.” slip op. at 7
§ 102 anticipation§ 103 obviousnessDiscretionary denialPatents in suitUS 8,076,507
Holdings, summaries, rulings, issues, outcomes, winners and claim constructions shown for a decision were generated by a large language model reading the opinion. They are a guide to the decision, not the decision. Confirm every one against the court's own text before relying on it. Outcomes read from the patent owner’s side. Party names are extracted from the decision and are missing on about 900 short Director denials and scans, which carry the trial number instead.