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  • PTAB · May 5, 2025 · IPR2025-00092 · APJ Garth D Baer · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution because Orca disclaimed all challenged claims 1–19 before institution.

    RulingsInstitution decision
    • Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentOther

      “Under 37 C.F.R. § 42.107(e), “[t]he patent owner may file a statutory disclaimer under 35 U.S.C. 253(a) in compliance with § 1.321(a) of this chapter, disclaiming one or more claims in the patent” and, if the statutory disclaimer is filed properly, “[n]o [IPR] will be instituted based on disclaimed claims.” A statutory disclaimer is “considered as part of the original patent” as of the date on which it is “recorded” in the USPTO. 35 U.S.C. § 253(a). “A statutory disclaimer under 35 U.S.C. § 253 has the effect of canceling the claims from the patent and the patent is viewed as though the disclaimed claims had never existed in the patent.” Guinn v. Kopf, 96 F.3d 1419, 1422 (Fed. Cir. 1996); see also Raytheon Techs. Corp. v. General Elec. Co., 993 F.3d 1374, n.4 (Fed. Cir. 2021) (“Disclaimed claims are treated as if they never existed.”)” slip op. at 2

    Discretionary denial
    Patents in suitUS 11,516,231
  • PTAB · Nov 19, 2024 · IPR2024-00855 · APJ Grace Karaffa Obermann · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution of IPR challenging claims 1–5 and 8–14, exercising § 314(a) discretion under Fintiv because the factors favored denial and the merits were not compelling.

    RulingsInstitution decision
    • PTAB / AIA Trials › Discretionary denial › Fintiv (parallel litigation)Institution denied fintivDenied

      “We consider the following factors to assess “whether efficiency, fairness, and the merits support the exercise of authority to deny institution in view of an earlier trial date in the parallel proceeding.” 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; 4. overlap between issues raised in the petition and in the 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. Fintiv, Paper 11 at 5–6.” slip op. at 7

    • PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)Institution denied fintivInstitution denied

      “We have authority to institute an inter partes review where a petitioner shows a reasonable likelihood of prevailing with respect to at least one challenged claim. 35 U.S.C. § 314(a); 37 C.F.R. § 42.4(a). Under appropriate circumstances, however, we may exercise our discretion under Section 314(a) and deny review without regard to whether the petitioner has met that threshold. Trial Practice Guide,3 64; see 84 Fed. Reg. 64,280 (Nov. 21, 2019). For reasons that follow, we exercise our discretion under Section 314(a) and do not institute an inter partes review.” slip op. at 2

    • Claim Construction › Threshold & procedure › Whether a term needs construction (O2 Micro)Not reached

      “On this record, we discern a genuinely-disputed issue surrounding the correct construction of the first wavelength spectrum limitation. Specifically, a question arises whether the first wavelength spectrum limitation can be 13 Neither party identifies the litigation involving Petitioner’s real parties-ininterest as related to this proceeding. Pet. 1; Paper 5, 1. That litigation, however, involves assertions of the ’547 patent claims against Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., and Samsung Electronics America, Inc. Ex. 2053, 1, 8; see Pet. 1 (identifying those entities as Petitioner’s real parties-in-interest). met by a portion of the radiation emitted by the organic layer (as argued by Petitioner); or instead, the first wavelength spectrum limitation refers to the entirety of the radiation emitted by the organic layer (as argued by Patent Owner). Compare Pet. 23–25, 57–58, with Prelim. Resp. 64–74. To be clear, we need not and, therefore, do not resolve the correct construction of the first wavelength spectrum limitation. It is enough for us to observe, on this record, that a genuinely-disputed issue surrounds this issue of claim construction. As explained in the next section, that dispute casts doubt upon whether Petitioner shows sufficiently, for purposes of trial institution, that the prior art suggests the filter transparency limitation.” slip op. at 15

    • Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successNot reached

      “14 Petitioner belatedly suggests that an ordinarily skilled artisan would have been prompted to replace the emitter material employed by the prior art (namely, BCzVBi in DPvBi) with a different, but undisclosed, emitter material having “no significant emission at wavelengths above 500 nm.” Opp. Supp. Br. 2 (citing Ex. 2010 ¶ 43); see Reply 3–4 (same). That argument is not presented in the Petition, much less supported in the Petition by a rationale to combine. See Pet. 16–17, 48–50 (mapping the organic layer sequence of claim 1 to the organic layer sequence of Igarashi or Shiotani, which both employ BCzVBi in DPvBi as the emitter material (Ex. 1004 ¶ 88; Ex. 1005, 5/12)).” slip op. at 17

    Claim construction§ 103 obviousnessDiscretionary denial
    Patents in suitUS 8,314,547
  • PTAB · Jan 19, 2022 · PGR2021-00101 · APJ Garth D Baer · PGR · Institution

    The Board denied post-grant review of claims 1, 7, 9, 16, 22, and 24 because the patent is not eligible for PGR as a pre-AIA patent.

    RulingsInstitution decision
    • PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)Institution denied meritsInstitution denied

      “Act (“AIA”)5 apply only to AIA patents, which are patents that have an effective filing date on or after March 16, 2013. See AIA §§ 3(n)(1); 6(f)(2)(A). Pre-AIA patents—those with effective filing dates before March 16, 2013—are not eligible for post-grant review.” slip op. at 6

    Discretionary denial
    Patents in suitUS 10,951,632
  • PTAB · Jan 19, 2022 · PGR2021-00100 · APJ Thomas L Giannetti · PGR · Institution

    The Board denied post-grant review of claims 1, 9, 16, and 24 because the patent is pre-AIA and ineligible for post-grant review.

    RulingsInstitution decision
    • PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)Institution denied

      “III. ELIGIBILITY FOR POST-GRANT REVIEW The post-grant review provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”)4 apply only to AIA patents, which are patents that have an effective filing date on or after March 16, 2013. See AIA §§ 3(n)(1); 6(f)(2)(A). Pre-AIA patents—those with effective filing dates before March 16, 2013—are not eligible for post-grant review.” slip op. at 5

    Discretionary denial
    Patents in suitUS 10,951,632
  • PTAB · Nov 29, 2021 · IPR2021-01011 · APJ Garth D Baer · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution because Patent Owner disclaimed all challenged claims 1–36, and the Board’s rules bar institution on disclaimed claims.

    RulingsInstitution decision
    • Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentDenied

      “November 22, 2021, after Petitioner filed its Petition, Patent Owner filed a statutory disclaimer, disclaiming claims 1–36 of the ’957 patent. Ex. 2008. Under our rules, “[n]o inter partes review will be instituted based on disclaimed claims.” 37 C.F.R. § 42.107(e); see Gen. Elec. Co. v. United Techs. Corp., IPR2017-00491, Paper 9 (PTAB July 6, 2017) (explaining how Rule 42.107(e) operates in the case of a pre-institution disclaimer of all claims) (precedential). Because we cannot institute trial on disclaimed claims and Patent Owner has disclaimed all of the challenged claims, we do not institute an inter partes review of claims 1–36. III. ORDER Accordingly, it is: ORDERED that the Petition is denied as to the challenged claims of the ʼ957 patent; and FURTHER ORDERED that no inter partes review is instituted.” slip op. at 2

    Discretionary denial
    Patents in suitUS 8,577,957
  • PTAB · Oct 1, 2021 · IPR2021-00806 · APJ Garth D Baer · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution on claims 1–3 because Patent Owner disclaimed all claims of the ’903 patent.

    RulingsInstitution decision
    • Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentDenied

      “We agree with Patent Owner. Under our rules, “[n]o inter partes review will be instituted based on disclaimed claims.” 37 C.F.R. § 42.107(e). Because we cannot institute trial on disclaimed claims, we do not institute an inter partes review of claims 1–3.” slip op. at 2

    Discretionary denial
    Patents in suitUS 9,747,903
  • PTAB · Mar 24, 2021 · CBM2020-00027 · APJ Thomas L Giannetti · CBM · Institution

    The Board denied institution of CBM review for claims 1–7 because the patent did not qualify as a covered business method patent; it did not reach the § 101 challenge.

    RulingsInstitution decision
    • PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)Institution denied meritsInstitution denied

      “covered business method patent review, the focus is on the claims. Blue Calypso, LLC v. Groupon, Inc., 815 F.3d 1331, 1340 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (challenged patent eligible for review because the claims recited “an express financial component in the form of a subsidy” that was “central to the operation of the claimed invention”). Thus, “§ 18 (d)(1) directs us to examine the claims when deciding whether a patent is a CBM patent.” Blue Calypso, 815 F.3d at 1340. More specifically, the focus is on the claims to determine whether there is anything “explicitly or inherently financial in the construed claim language.” Id. The claims of the ’341 patent are directed to “[a] method for sharing video over a structured hierarchical network.” Ex. 1001, 25:14–15. We are not persuaded that this a financial activity. We agree with Patent Owner that the focus of the claims is video sharing technology. Prelim. Resp. 21. The claims describe a series of method steps for sharing video content involving servers and video files. Nowhere do the claims discuss or suggest obtaining payment or remuneration. Thus, the claims are unlike those in Blue Calypso, 815 F.3d 1331. In Blue Calypso, the claims expressly recited the term “subsidy,” which the Board construed as “financial assistance given by one to another.” Id. at 1339–40. The Federal Circuit explained that based on this understanding, the Board had concluded that the claims “were financial in nature” and instituted CBM review. Id. at 1340. The Federal Circuit agreed with the Board’s analysis and affirmed its decision to institute CBM patent review: “Significantly, Blue Calypso has not challenged the Board’s interpretation of subsidy as ‘financial assistance given by one to another.’” Id.” slip op. at 6

    • BurdenDecided for patent owner

      “covered business method patent review, the focus is on the claims. Blue Calypso, LLC v. Groupon, Inc., 815 F.3d 1331, 1340 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (challenged patent eligible for review because the claims recited “an express financial component in the form of a subsidy” that was “central to the operation of the claimed invention”). Thus, “§ 18 (d)(1) directs us to examine the claims when deciding whether a patent is a CBM patent.” Blue Calypso, 815 F.3d at 1340. More specifically, the focus is on the claims to determine whether there is anything “explicitly or inherently financial in the construed claim language.” Id. The claims of the ’341 patent are directed to “[a] method for sharing video over a structured hierarchical network.” Ex. 1001, 25:14–15. We are not persuaded that this a financial activity. We agree with Patent Owner that the focus of the claims is video sharing technology. Prelim. Resp. 21. The claims describe a series of method steps for sharing video content involving servers and video files. Nowhere do the claims discuss or suggest obtaining payment or remuneration. Thus, the claims are unlike those in Blue Calypso, 815 F.3d 1331. In Blue Calypso, the claims expressly recited the term “subsidy,” which the Board construed as “financial assistance given by one to another.” Id. at 1339–40. The Federal Circuit explained that based on this understanding, the Board had concluded that the claims “were financial in nature” and instituted CBM review. Id. at 1340. The Federal Circuit agreed with the Board’s analysis and affirmed its decision to institute CBM patent review: “Significantly, Blue Calypso has not challenged the Board’s interpretation of subsidy as ‘financial assistance given by one to another.’” Id.” slip op. at 6

    • Patent Eligibility (§101) › Alice/Mayo step one — 'directed to'Not reached

      “E. Subject Matter Eligibility Under 35 U.S.C. § 101 Petitioner contends that the challenged claims are directed to an abstract idea that is not eligible subject matter for a patent under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Pet. 77. According to Petitioner, “[t]he claims recite the abstract idea of including advertising with appropriately formatted video.” Id. at 80. Patent Owner responds that Petitioner has failed to show that the claims recite ineligible subject matter. Prelim. Resp. 64. According to Patent Owner, “[t]he ’341 Patent claims recite specific steps that improve the functioning of a video server providing shared video files.” Id. Because we have determined that the ’341 patent does not qualify for covered business method patent review, we do not address whether the claims recite eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.” slip op. at 11

    § 101 eligibilityDiscretionary denial
    Patents in suitUS 10,362,341
  • PTAB · Nov 20, 2017 · CBM2017-00057 · APJ Kevin W Cherry · CBM · Institution

    The Board denied institution on claims 1–19 because Petitioner did not show that the patent qualified as a covered business method patent.

    RulingsInstitution decision
    • PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)Institution denied

      “We agree with Patent Owner that Petitioner has failed to show adequately that the ’647 patent “claims a method or corresponding apparatus for performing data processing or other operations used in the practice, administration, or management of a financial product or service,” to qualify as a covered business method patent. As we explained above, Secure Axcess requires a challenged patent to “have a claim that contains . . . a financial activity element.” Secure Axcess, 848 F.3d at 1381 (emphasis added). Petitioner fails to point to any element of claims of the ’647 patent that it contends meets the “financial activity element” required by Secure Axcess. Instead, it merely points to statements in the specification regarding potential applications for the claimed cryptographic algorithm. At best, Petitioner argues that the claimed encryption method can be for financial matters, such as securing e-commerce transactions, but this is not sufficient after the Federal Circuit’s guidance in both Unwired Planet and Secure Axcess. See id. Petitioner has simply failed to identify anything in the claims that are financial in nature.” slip op. at 9

    Discretionary denial
    Patents in suitUS 8,023,647
  • PTAB · Jan 20, 2016 · IPR2015-02008 · APJ Michael R Zecher · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution of inter partes review because the patent owner statutorily disclaimed all challenged claims, 19–21.

    RulingsInstitution decision
    • Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentOther

      “a preliminary response filed in response to a petition. Of particular importance to the circumstances presented here is sub-section (e), which provides that “[t]he patent owner may file a statutory disclaimer under 35 U.S.C. 253(a) in compliance with § 1.321(a) of this chapter, disclaiming one or more claims in the patent. No inter partes review will be instituted based on disclaimed claims.” 37 C.F.R. § 42.107(e) (emphasis added). As we explained above, Vivint filed a Preliminary Response along with a statutory disclaimer that explicitly disclaims all of the claims challenged in this Preliminary Proceeding. Ex. 2001. We have reviewed this statutory disclaimer, and we are satisfied that it was filed under § 253(a) in compliance with § 1.321(a). Accordingly, because Vivint has disclaimed all of the claims challenged in this proceeding, no inter partes review may be instituted. IV. ORDER In consideration of the foregoing, it is ORDERED that no inter partes review is instituted.” slip op. at 2

    Discretionary denial
    Patents in suitUS 6,924,727

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.