- PTAB · Jun 6, 2025 · IPR2025-00257 · APJ Lilan Ren · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted IPR on claims 1–15 and all asserted grounds, finding a reasonable likelihood that claim 1 is unpatentable over Cable and Naware and over Comb and Tummala.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Discretionary denial › Fintiv (parallel litigation)Denied
“discussed below, we decline to exercise our discretion to deny the Petition.” slip op. at 8
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“review. See 35 U.S.C. § 314 (2024); 37 C.F.R. § 42.4(a) (2024). Institution of an inter partes review requires that “the information presented in the petition . . . and any response . . . 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). For the reasons set forth below, we determine that there is a reasonable likelihood that Petitioner will prevail with respect to at least one challenged claim, and we institute an inter partes review.” slip op. at 2
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successMotivation foundReasonable expectation foundInstituted
“persuaded that Petitioner has sufficiently shown for purposes of institution that a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the teachings of Cable and Naware in the manner argued by Petitioner. For example, both references directly relate to 3D printing, and we are persuaded that Cable teaches “a heated build platform and calls on the POSITA to implement this teaching via suitable solutions known in the art.” Pet. 13 (noting that Cable teaches a build platform that can be heated “by any suitable heating elements” (citing 1006 ¶ 45)). The current record also indicates that Naware taught known options in this regard, e.g., where it describes a build plate to be used in a 3D printing process that includes contact plates and temperature control modules. See, e.g., Ex. 1007, code (57). Petitioner additionally argues that there is a reasonable expectation of success in combining Cable with Naware because “3D printers with temperature-controlled heated build plates were well-known technologies at the time of the ’660 patent in 2014, and these technologies had been successfully demonstrated in the real-world by then.” Pet 15 (citing various portions of Ex. 1003). Patent Owner does not contest Petitioner’s arguments with respect to a reasonable expectation of success in combining Cable with Naware. See generally Prelim. Resp. Based on our review and consideration of the current record, we are persuaded that Petitioner has sufficiently shown for the teachings of Cable and Naware in the manner argued by Petitioner.” slip op. at 23
- Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner
“Patent Owner “does not contest Petitioner’s description of a person of ordinary skill in the art (a ‘POSITA’) having a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a comparable field and at least two years of experience related to 3D printing, with additional experience potentially being a substitute for a formal degree or training (and vice versa).” Prelim. Resp. 37. Patent Owner does not address the specific knowledge that Petitioner contends that ordinarily skilled artisan would possess. Id. For purposes of this decision, we adopt Petitioner’s unopposed definition of the level of ordinary skill in the art as it appears consistent with the disclosures of the ’660 patent and the prior art of record. See Okajima v. Bourdeau, 261 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2001).” slip op. at 18
Claim construction§ 103 obviousnessDiscretionary denialcites Phillips · KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 9,592,660
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.