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  • PTAB · Jun 12, 2025 · IPR2025-00089 · APJ Michael R Zecher · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution because Nuvei did not show a reasonable likelihood that claims 1–27 would have been obvious over either asserted combination.

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

      “providing” negative limitation of independent claim 1, and the similar negative limitations of independent claims 8, 15, 23, and 25. Accordingly, Nuvei has not shown a reasonable likelihood that it would prevail on its assertions that the subject matter of independent claims 1, 8, 15, 23, and 25 would have been obvious over the combined teachings of Stringfellow and Kloster.” slip op. at 25

    • Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner

      “the art “would have had at least (1) an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or comparable field of study, and (2) at least two years’ experience working with and programming networked computer systems.” Pet. 9 (citing Ex. 1005 ¶ 36). Nuvei also argues that “[a]dditional education might substitute for some experience, and vice versa.” Id. In the Preliminary Response, Autoscribe does not address the level of skill in the art. See Prelim. Resp. Accordingly, for purposes of this Decision, we adopt Nuvei’s proposed assessment of the level of ordinary skill in the art because it is consistent with both the ’621 patent and the asserted prior art, and it is supported by the testimony of Dr. Almeroth.” slip op. at 13

    • Expert testimonyPetitioner expert discountedDecided for patent owner

      “The supporting testimony from Nuvei’s declarant, Dr. Almeroth, on these issues fare no better. Dr. Almeroth provides no additional explanation beyond the arguments and evidence presented in the Petition to support Nuvei’s assertion that Kloster does not provide the payment data token to the payer during its token retrieval functions. See Ex. 1005 ¶ 100.” slip op. at 24

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

      “argument that Kloster does not teach the “without providing” negative limitation required by each independent claim. Nuvei appears to contend that Kloster teaches this limitation in two different ways—namely, through either a “call back URL” or “API calls by the merchant.” Pet. 50–51 (emphasis omitted) (quoting Ex. 1008 ¶¶ 15, 23) (citing Ex. 1008 ¶ 24). We address Nuvei’s contentions in turn.” slip op. at 21

    § 103 obviousnesscites KSR · Graham
    Patents in suitUS 11,620,621
  • PTAB · May 5, 2025 · IPR2025-00095 · APJ Michael R Zecher · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution because Orca disclaimed all challenged claims 1–18, so no trial could be instituted on them.

    RulingsInstitution decision
    • Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentOther

      “Based on our review of Exhibit 2002 and the USPTO’s public records, we conclude that a disclaimer of claims 1–18 of the ’855 patent under 35 U.S.C. § 253(a) has been recorded in the Office as of April 24, 2025. Ex. 2002. Because we cannot institute an IPR based on disclaimed claims and all of the challenged claims of the ’855 patent have been disclaimed, no trial will be instituted. See Gen. Elec. Co. v. United Techs. Corp., IPR2017-00491, Paper 9 (PTAB July 6, 2017) (precedential) (Decision” slip op. at 3

    None
    Patents in suitUS 11,637,855
  • PTAB · May 5, 2025 · IPR2025-00093 · APJ Michael R Zecher · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution because Orca disclaimed all challenged claims 1–20, leaving no claims on which to institute IPR.

    RulingsInstitution decision
    • Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentOther

      “Based on our review of Exhibit 2002 and the USPTO’s public records, we conclude that a disclaimer of claims 1–20 of the ’257 patent under 35 U.S.C. § 253(a) has been recorded in the Office as of April 24, 2025. Ex. 2002. Because we cannot institute an IPR based on disclaimed claims and all of the challenged claims of the ’257 patent have been disclaimed, no trial will be instituted. See Gen. Elec. Co. v. United Techs. Corp., IPR2017-00491, Paper 9 (PTAB July 6, 2017) (precedential) (Decision” slip op. at 3

    None
    Patents in suitUS 11,582,257
  • 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 · May 5, 2025 · IPR2025-00087 · APJ Kevin C Trock · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution of IPR challenging claims 1–20, exercising § 314(a) discretion based on the Fintiv factors.

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

      “Accordingly, based on the current record, we disagree with Petitioner that Factor 2 is neutral. Instead, we agree with Patent Owner that Factor 2 favors discretionary denial.” slip op. at 11

    Discretionary denial
    Patents in suitUS 11,477,108
  • PTAB · Apr 28, 2025 · IPR2025-00013 · APJ Scott Raevsky · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution of IPR on claims 1–23 under § 314(a), relying on the Fintiv factors and its holistic assessment of the parallel litigation and petition merits.

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

      “the Petition under Apple Inc. v. Fintiv, Inc., IPR2020-00019, Paper 11 (PTAB Mar. 20, 2020) (precedential) (“Fintiv”). Prelim. Resp. 34–41. Fintiv identifies a non-exclusive list of factors we consider when addressing whether a related, parallel district court action provides a basis for discretionary denial under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a). Fintiv, Paper 11 at 5–16. These factors include: 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.” slip op. at 5

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

      “reasonable likelihood that the petitioner would prevail with respect to at least 1 of the claims challenged in the petition.” 35 U.S.C. § 314(a). Institution of inter partes review, however, is discretionary. See Harmonic Inc. v. Avid Tech., Inc., 815 F.3d 1356, 1367 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (“[T]he PTO is permitted, but never compelled, to institute an IPR proceeding.”). For the reasons discussed below, we exercise discretion under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a) not to institute inter partes review.” slip op. at 2

    Discretionary denial
    Patents in suitUS 11,770,313
  • PTAB · Apr 28, 2025 · IPR2025-00012 · APJ Scott Raevsky · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution of review of claims 1–25 under § 314(a), citing the parallel trial schedule, investment, transfer ruling, and not particularly strong merits.

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

      “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. Id. at 5–6. We take “a holistic view of whether efficiency and integrity of the system are best served by denying or instituting review” when evaluating these factors. Id. at 6.” slip op. at 5

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

      “reasonable likelihood that the petitioner would prevail with respect to at least 1 of the claims challenged in the petition.” 35 U.S.C. § 314(a). Institution of inter partes review, however, is discretionary. See Harmonic Inc. v. Avid Tech., Inc., 815 F.3d 1356, 1367 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (“[T]he PTO is permitted, but never compelled, to institute an IPR proceeding.”). For the reasons discussed below, we exercise discretion under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a) not to institute inter partes review.” slip op. at 2

    Discretionary denial
    Patents in suitUS 10,848,398
  • PTAB · Apr 17, 2025 · IPR2024-01379 · APJ Kevin C Trock · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution of review of claim 20, finding that the Fintiv factors favored discretionary denial under § 314(a).

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

      “(which we address in more detail below) turns on the determination of the meaning of the claim term “periodically.” We note that the District Court has construed the term “periodically monitor” to mean “monitor at regular intervals of time.” See Sec. II.C below. Given this construction, which we preliminarily agree with at this stage, we cannot agree with Petitioner that the Petition presents “a strong case for obviousness.” Thus, we find that Factor 6 weighs in favor of exercising discretionary denial.” slip op. at 16

    • Claim Construction › Intrinsic evidence (Phillips canons) › Plain and ordinary meaning to a POSITATerm construed patent owner constructionDecided for patent owner

      “periodically” as it is used in claim 20, with Petitioner arguing that “periodically’ means “repeated . . . over time” and Patent Owner arguing that “periodically” means “at fixed intervals.” See Pet. 25; Prelim. Resp. 8. Our preliminary determination of the ordinary and customary meaning of the term “periodically” as it is used in claim 20 substantially impacts our view of the merits in this case as this issue is the principal one raised by Patent Owner in its Preliminary Response. See Prelim. Resp. 5–22. slip op. at 20

    • Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner

      “Petitioner’s description of a person of ordinary skill appears consistent with the subject matter of the ’996 patent. This is supported by the testimony of Petitioner’s declarant, Dr. Martin. See Ex. 1002 ¶¶ 55–56. We adopt Petitioner’s assessment of a person of ordinary skill for purposes of this Decision, with the exception of the qualifier “at least,” to keep the description from being vague and extending to a level reflecting that of an expert. See Okajima v. Bourdeau, 261 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2001); In re GPAC Inc., 57 F.3d 1573, 1579 (Fed. Cir. 1995). C. Claim Construction” slip op. at 18

    Claim constructionDiscretionary denialcites Phillips · Graham
    Patents in suitUS 7,809,996
  • PTAB · Mar 10, 2025 · IPR2024-01343 · APJ Ken B Barrett · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution because Petitioner did not show a reasonable likelihood that claims 1 and 2 were unpatentable under any of the three asserted obviousness grounds.

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

      “II. ANALYSIS A. Principles of Law Petitioner bears the burden of persuasion to prove unpatentability of the claims challenged in the Petition, and that burden never shifts to Patent Owner. Dynamic Drinkware, LLC v. Nat’l Graphics, Inc., 800 F.3d 1375, 1378 (Fed. Cir. 2015). A patent claim is unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) if the differences between the claimed subject matter and the prior art are such that the subject matter, as a whole, would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 406 (2007). The question of obviousness is resolved on the basis of underlying factual determinations including: (1) the scope and content of the prior art; (2) any differences between the claimed subject matter and the prior art; (3) the level of skill in the art; and (4) if present, any objective evidence of obviousness or non-obviousness. Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 17–18 (1966).” slip op. at 7

    • Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner

      “The parties’ definitions are similar, although we observe that Patent Owner proposes that the person of ordinary skill would have a bachelor’s degree or professional experience, whereas Petitioner proposes that such a person would have both a degree and experience. Petitioner’s definition is consistent with the level of ordinary skill reflected in the prior art references of record. See Okajima v. Bourdeau, 261 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (recognizing that the prior art itself may reflect an appropriate level of skill in the art). For purposes of this decision, we apply Petitioner’s definition of the person of ordinary skill in the art. Cf. Ex. 2001 ¶ 17 (Patent Owner’s declarant, Dr. Goodrich, stating that “[m]y opinions in this declaration would not change were I to adopt the definition of a POSITA offered by [Petitioner’s declarant] Dr. Almeroth.”).” slip op. at 8

    • Claim Construction › Threshold & procedure › Whether a term needs construction (O2 Micro)No construction neededOther

      “dedicated to claim construction, but Patent Owner does address claim construction in its discussion of Petitioner’s challenges. See, e.g., Prelim. Resp. 21–23 (Patent Owner arguing: “Petitioner’s ‘Feed Selection Mapping 2’ should be rejected because it relies on rewriting the claim so that it encompasses a device other than the aggregator providing user information to the publisher. . . . Because Whitehead’s alleged aggregator does not provide profiles to the alleged publisher in a channel request responsive to that request, ‘Feed Selection Mapping 2’ does not even meet the plain reading of the aggregator providing to the publisher ‘the media feed selection’ with ‘user information’ included.” (emphasis added)). Because our decision does not turn on this proposed construction, we need not address it. On this record and for purposes of this decision, we determine that no claim terms require express construction. D. The Alleged Obviousness of Claims 1 and 2 over Whitehead (Ground 1)” slip op. at 9

    • BurdenDecided for patent owner

      “We find the Petition to be too confusing to follow. It is Petitioner’s burden to articulate a coherent and discernable case that is readily understandable by the Board and that places Patent Owner on notice of the basis of Petitioner’s case so that Patent Owner may have the opportunity to respond. See 37 C.F.R. § 42.104(b) (“[T]he petition must set forth . . . a statement of the precise relief requested for each claim challenged,” including “specify[ing] where each element of the claim is found in the prior art.” (emphasis added)). In light of the above, we determine that Petitioner has not demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on its Whitehead obviousness challenge.” slip op. at 16

    Claim constructioncites Phillips · KSR · Graham
    Patents in suitUS 9,923,947
  • PTAB · Mar 10, 2025 · IPR2024-01341 · APJ Ken B Barrett · IPR · Institution

    The Board denied institution because Petitioner did not show a reasonable likelihood of proving claims 1–10 unpatentable under any of the three asserted obviousness grounds.

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

      “An 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.” 35 U.S.C. § 314(a). Having considered the arguments and evidence presented by Petitioner and Patent Owner, we determine that Petitioner has not demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on at least one of the challenged claims of the ’261 patent. Accordingly, we do not institute an inter partes review of the challenged claims.” slip op. at 2

    • Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner

      “The parties’ definitions are similar, although we observe that Patent Owner proposes that the person of ordinary skill would have a bachelor’s degree or professional experience, whereas Petitioner proposes that such a person would have both a degree and experience. Petitioner’s definition is consistent with the level of ordinary skill reflected in the prior art references of record. See Okajima v. Bourdeau, 261 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (recognizing that the prior art itself may reflect an appropriate level of skill in the art). For purposes of this decision, we apply Petitioner’s definition of the person of ordinary skill in the art. Cf. Ex. 2001 ¶ 17 (Patent Owner’s declarant, Dr. Goodrich, stating that “[m]y opinions in this declaration would not change were I to adopt the definition of a POSITA offered by [Petitioner’s declarant] Dr. Almeroth.”).” slip op. at 8

    • Claim Construction › Threshold & procedure › Whether a term needs construction (O2 Micro)No construction neededOther

      “read limitations out of the claims.” (citation omitted)). Because our decision does not turn on this proposed construction, we need not address it. On this record and for purposes of this decision, we determine that no claim terms require express construction.” slip op. at 10

    • BurdenDecided for patent owner

      “Thus, according to Whitehead, the purported client device (media player 115) is a TV or monitor that displays menus, whereas the selection of programming is performed by the remote control 111 in conjunction with the set top box (content processing device 110). Petitioner does not explain adequately how the TV/monitor itself has the capability of selecting a program or, in terms of the claim, how the aggregator (set top box) receives a media feed selection from the TV/monitor. Petitioner’s lengthy string cite, see Pet. 21, is not an adequate substitute for an explanation in the Petition, and we decline to study all the cited portions to try to discern whether Petitioner might have a viable explanation as to how the TV/monitor selects programming.” slip op. at 12

    Claim constructioncites Phillips · KSR · Graham
    Patents in suitUS 9,215,261
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