• Cambridge Industries USA, Inc. v. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.Institution denied
  PTAB · Jun 27, 2025 · IPR2025-00435 · APJ Coke Morgan Stewart · IPR · Director review

  The Director granted Patent Owner’s request for discretionary denial and denied institution of IPR2025-00433 and IPR2025-00435 under § 314(a), based on a holistic assessment including settled expectations.

  RulingsDirector review decision

  • Settled expectationsInstitution denied settled expectationsInstitution denied

    “Accordingly, Patent Owner’s settled expectations as to U.S. Patent No. 10,379,301 B2, U.S. Patent No. 10,313,024 B1, and U.S. Patent No. 10,788,690 B2 do not favor discretionary denial. The patents challenged in IPR2025-00433 and IPR2025-00435, however, have been in force for nine and seven years, respectively, and are not from the same patent family as those in IPR2025-00434, IPR2025- 00436, and IPR2025-00437. Accordingly, Patent Owner’s settled expectations as to the patents challenged in IPR2025-00433 and IPR2025- 00435 are stronger and discretionary denial is appropriate as to these proceedings.” slip op. at 3

  • PTAB / AIA Trials › Discretionary denial › §325(d) same art / argumentsDecided for petitioner

    “district court proceeding in the Northern District of California. DD Req. 7– 9; DD Opp. 2. There is no currently scheduled trial date in the co-pending district court litigation. DD Opp. 7. The District Court further vacated the scheduled Markman hearing. DD Req. 9; DD Opp. 7. Although Patent Owner argues that discretionary denial is warranted because Petitioner is over-reliant on expert testimony, Patent Owner does not identify any portions of the expert testimony that suggest Petitioner is using its expert to fill gaps in the prior art. DD Req. 28–29; DD Opp. 10. Additionally, Patent Owner’s arguments for discretionary denial under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d) for some of the proceedings are unavailing and discretionary denial under § 325(d) is not appropriate. Furthermore, most of the challenged patents have not been in force for a significant period of time (issued in 2020, 2019, and 2019), and, accordingly, Patent Owner has not developed strong settled expectations that favor discretionary denial as to at least those patents.” slip op. at 2

  Discretionary denial
  Patents in suitUS 10,042,116

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