• Johnson Health Tech Co. Ltd. / Johnson Health Tech North America, Inc. v. Icon Health & Fitness, Inc.Institution denied
  PTAB · Feb 11, 2015 · IPR2014-01242 · APJ Carl M Defranco · IPR · Institution

  The Board denied institution because JHTNA was served with an infringement complaint more than one year before the petition, and JHT was its privy.

  RulingsInstitution decision

  • PTAB / AIA Trials › §315(b) time barInstitution denied time barInstitution denied

    “review. Prelim. Resp. 3–23. Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 315(b), a party may not file a petition for inter partes review more than one-year after being served with a complaint alleging infringement of the patent. The one-year deadline helps to ensure that inter partes review provides a quick and cost effective alternative to litigation, and is not used as a tool for harassment or litigation gamesmanship. H.R. REP. NO. 112-98 at 48, as reprinted in 2011 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 78. In a Preliminary Proceeding,1 the petitioner bears the burden of showing compliance with the threshold requirement of § 315(b). Specifically, in order to show “standing” to file a petition, the petitioner “must certify . . . that the petitioner is not barred or estopped from requesting an inter partes review . . . .” 37 C.F.R. § 42.104(a) (first emphasis added). As grounds for standing, Petitioners purport that the claims challenged in the Petition were not added to the Utah Action until August 5, 2013, when Icon filed an amended complaint alleging infringement of the ’631 patent after completion of reexam and lifting of the stay. Pet. 1–2.” slip op. at 3

  • PTAB / AIA Trials › Real party in interest / privityInstitution denied rpiDecided for patent owner

    “issue of whether JHT is a “privy” of JHTNA for purposes of § 315(b). Specifically, § 315(b) includes within its reach any party that qualifies as a “privy of the petitioner.” In determining whether JHT is a privy of JHTNA, we consider the nature of the relationship between the parties at the time the statutorily-relevant complaint was served, i.e., December 27, 2010. See Taylor v. Sturgell, 553 U.S. 880, 892 (2008) (“A person who was not a party to a suit generally has not had a ‘full and fair opportunity to litigate’ the claims and issues settled in that suit.”). Ultimately, our analysis “seeks to determine whether the relationship between the purported ‘privy’ and the relevant other party is sufficiently close such that both should be bound by the trial outcome and related estoppels.” Office Patent Trial Practice Guide, 77 Fed. Reg. 48,756, 48,759 (Aug. 14, 2012).” slip op. at 8

  Discretionary denial
  Patents in suitUS 6,193,631

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.