- PTAB · Dec 10, 2025 · PGR2025-00054 · APJ Ryan H Flax · PGR · Institution
The Board instituted PGR on claims 1–16 on all four grounds, finding at least one claim more likely than not unpatentable based on obviousness, indefiniteness, or lack of written description.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“institute trial in a post-grant review. We institute a post-grant review only if the information presented in the petition filed under 35 U.S.C. § 321, if unrebutted, shows that it is more likely than not that at least one claim challenged in the petition is unpatentable. 35 U.S.C. § 324. On the existing record, we conclude that Petitioner demonstrates it is more likely than not that Petitioner would prevail in showing that at least one challenged claim of the ’781 patent is unpatentable under a presented ground. See generally Pet. Therefore, we grant institution of post-grant review. Our reasoning is discussed below.” slip op. at 2
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Real party in interest / privityDecided for petitioner
“STANDING Petitioner states that it certifies that: (1) the ’781 patent is available for post grant review because its earliest claimed effective filing date is October 9, 2018, and the patent issued less than nine months ago, on December 3, 2024; and (2) Petitioner is not barred or estopped from requesting a post grant review on the grounds in this petition. Pet. 5. This is sufficient. See 35 U.S.C. § 100(note)(A)–(B), § 321; 37 C.F.R. § 42.204(a). Patent Owner does not contest standing. See generally Prelim. Resp. B. REAL PARTIES-IN-INTEREST Petitioner states that “[t]he real parties-in-interest are Petitioner Straumann USA, LLC and its affiliates Institut Straumann AG and JJGC Indústria e Comércio de Materiais Dentários S.A.” Pet. 3. Patent Owner raises no objection and itself identifies “Smart Denture Conversions, LLC is the real party-in-interest.” Paper 4, 2; see generally Prelim. Resp. C.” slip op. at 3
- Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner
“At this point, we find little meaningful difference between the two proposed definitions. In fact, neither does Patent Owner’s witness, Mr. Leinsing, who states that his “opinions would not change under either definition.” Ex. 2011 ¶ 42. And, as set forth above, Patent Owner asserts that, for the sake of its present arguments, it matters not which of the two proposed definitions we use for this proceeding. Prelim. Resp. 21. Thus, at this stage, we accept and use Petitioner’s proposed definition of the ordinarily skilled artisan, which, unlike Patent Owner’s, does not implicate reliance on the knowledge of people other than the individual ordinarily skilled artisan. Petitioner’s definition appears to comport with the level of skill in the art reflected in the prior art of record and the ’781 patent. See Okajima v. Bourdeau, 261 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (“[T]he prior art itself [may] reflect[] an appropriate level” of ordinary skill in the art) (quoting Litton Indus. Prods., Inc. v. Solid State Sys. Corp., 755 F.2d 158, 163 (Fed. Cir. 1985)). This issue may be further developed at trial by the parties, if desired. C.” slip op. at 19
- Claim Construction › Threshold & procedure › Whether a term needs construction (O2 Micro)No construction neededOther
“same claim construction standard that is used to construe patent claims in a civil action in federal district court thus, by default, we give claim terms their ordinary and customary meaning, which is “the meaning that the term would have to a person of ordinary skill in the art in question at the time of the invention.” 37 C.F.R. § 42.200(b); Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1312–13 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc). Petitioner indicates that None of the claim terms of claims 1–16 need to be construed to determine the patentability issues presented in this petition. The petition applies the ordinary meaning of the claim language as it would be understood by a POSA after reading the ’781 patent. Ex. 1002, ¶130. Petitioner will propose a construction if Patent Owner argues or the Board determines that one is required for any term. Pet. 31 (citing Ex. 1002). And, Patent Owner presents no express position on claim construction at this point. See generally Prelim. Resp. At this stage of the proceeding, we do not expressly construe any claim terms; however, this position is preliminary and we may change it based on the fully developed record at trial.8 D.” slip op. at 19
Claim construction§ 103 obviousness§ 112 disclosurecites GrahamPatents in suitUS 12,156,781 - PTAB · Nov 21, 2025 · IPR2025-00956 · APJ Ryan H Flax · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted IPR on claims 1–12 under all asserted grounds, finding a reasonable likelihood that at least one claim is unpatentable.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“institute trial in an inter partes review. We institute an inter partes review only if the information presented in the petition filed under 35 U.S.C. § 311, and any preliminary response filed under § 313, shows that there is a reasonable likelihood that Petitioner would prevail with respect to at least one of the claims challenged in the petition. 35 U.S.C. § 314. After reviewing the parties’ submissions in view of the existing record, we conclude that Petitioner demonstrates a reasonable likelihood it would prevail in showing that at least one challenged claim of the ’992 patent is unpatentable under the presented grounds. See Pet. Therefore, we grant institution of inter partes review. Our reasoning is discussed below. A.” slip op. at 2
- Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner
“These two proposed definitions of the ordinarily skilled artisan share many consistencies, for example, the types of degrees and experience such a person would have had, but differ in the number of years of experience. Petitioner proposes the ordinarily skilled artisan would have had at least five years of experience and Patent Owner proposes at least three years (which would necessarily include five years, too). Patent Owner also proposes that the ordinarily skilled artisan would have consulted a dentist, oral surgeon, prosthodontist, or periodontist with experience in dental implants and prosthetics. At this point, we find little meaningful difference between the two proposed definitions. In fact, neither does Patent Owner’s witness, Mr. Leinsing, who states that his “opinions would not change under either definition.” Ex. 2011 ¶ 40. Thus, at this stage, we accept and use Petitioner’s proposed definition of the ordinarily skilled artisan, which, unlike Patent Owner’s, does not implicate reliance on the knowledge of people other than the individual ordinarily skilled artisan. Petitioner’s definition appears to comport with the level of skill in the art reflected in the prior art of record and the ’992 patent. See Okajima v. Bourdeau, 261 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (“the prior art itself [may] reflect[] an appropriate level” of the ordinary level of skill in the art) (quoting Litton Indus. Prods., Inc. v. Solid State Sys. Corp., 755 F.2d 158, 163 (Fed. Cir. 1985)). This parties may further developed this issue at trial, if desired. C.” slip op. at 13
- Claim Construction › Threshold & procedure › Whether a term needs construction (O2 Micro)No construction neededOther
“The Board interprets claim terms in an inter partes review using the same claim construction standard that is used to construe patent claims in a civil action in federal district court. 37 C.F.R. § 42.100(b). In construing claims, district courts and the Board here, by default, give claim terms their ordinary and customary meaning, which is “the meaning that the term would have to a person of ordinary skill in the art in question at the time of the invention.” Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1312–13 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc).” slip op. at 14
- Disclosure Requirements (§112) › Written description (Ariad)Written description inadequateNot entitled to earlier dateDecided for petitioner
“Here, the first claim limitation at issue is broad, i.e., different thread pattern/profile between a definite and a temporary screw, and the Specification’s and priority applications’ disclosure is narrow and specific, asymmetric buttress style threads in a temporary screw and symmetrical threads in a definite screw (are different). Any apparent predictability in or maturity of the relevant field here must be contrasted with the fact that the Specification, considering the ’992 patent itself or any of the identified priority applications, never once even discusses the (claimed) concept of specifically differing the thread style between a temporary and a definitive screw. Any differences in thread style are not called out by the disclosure, but are described and can be discerned only in relation to the respective threads’ functionality, i.e., Fig. 75’s temporary screw 190 has buttress-style threading so it can be pulled out rather than unscrewed from the abutment; Fig. 9’s definitive screw 75 has male threads that fill the female threads of the abutment 8 for a secure permanent engagement. Ex. 1001, 15:23–30, 21:25–44, 23:3–36; Ex. 1012, 97–98, Figs. 9, 75. And, although it is possible for a single disclosed species to provide written description support for a claimed genus, “a sufficient description of a genus . . . requires the disclosure of either a representative number of species falling within the scope of the genus or structural features common to the members of the genus so that one of skill in the art can ‘visualize or recognize’ the members of the genus.” Ariad, 598 F.3d at 1350; see also Synthes USA, LLC v. Spinal Kinetics, Inc., 734 F.3d 1332, 1344 (Fed. Cir. 2013). That does not appear to be the case here—the present record does not support that the described asymmetrical buttress, serrated style of different temporary screw threading (relative to that of the definitive screw and regardless of the direction of the threads for rotation) is sufficiently representative of the genus’s “different” thread patterns/profiles. See, e.g., Ex. 1006 (a buttress style thread does not function the same as a buttress reverse or 75º joint profile or rounded, or trapezoidal thread).” slip op. at 30
Claim construction§ 102 anticipation§ 103 obviousness§ 112 disclosurecites Phillips · GrahamPatents in suitUS 11,937,992 - PTAB · Nov 3, 2025 · IPR2025-00827 · APJ Barry L Grossman · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted IPR on claims 1–5, 7–14, 16–19, 22–26, and 28–32, finding a reasonable likelihood that Renisch anticipates at least one challenged claim.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“We have considered Patent Owner’s arguments, but, on this record, are not persuaded. We recognize that Dr. Sonka provides a different opinion than Petitioner and Dr. Rosen. Dr. Sonka testifies that in his opinion “the distinctions between Renisch and claim 1 go beyond terminology.” Ex. 2014 ¶ 79. At this stage, in the absence of a full record, we need not record, it appears that Renisch discloses the elements of limitation [1(c)] at paragraphs 26–31, where it discloses obtaining a scanned 3D image of a fuller anatomy, i.e., a segmentation map, and then using a segmentation unit (76) to define the boundaries of anatomical structures of interest within that fuller anatomy, i.e., creating a plurality of segmentation masks, using a library, models, clustering, edge detection, region growing, neural networks, and/or an atlas of normal anatomical structures, and then identifying hot spots of interest within those anatomical structures of interest, and identifying organs with lesions and those without. Ex. 1005 ¶¶ 26–31. Based on the record before us and the specific disclosures in Renisch, as discussed in this Decision, we determine that Petitioner has met the “reasonable likelihood” standard necessary to institute an inter partes review proceeding. Although we address only Ground A and claims 1 and 10 herein for the purposes of institution, as noted above, we will address all asserted grounds and challenged claims in any final decision.” slip op. at 20
- Claim Construction › Threshold & procedure › Whether a term needs construction (O2 Micro)No construction neededOther
“[W]e need only construe terms ‘that are in controversy, and only to the extent necessary to resolve the controversy.’” Nidec Motor Corp. v. Zhongshan Broad Ocean Motor Co. Ltd., 868 F.3d 1013, 1017 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (quoting Vivid Techs., Inc. v. Am. Sci. & Eng’g, Inc., 200 F.3d 795, 803 (Fed. Cir. 1999)). We do not perceive a need to construe any claim limitation at this time. This, however, does not preclude the parties from arguing proposed constructions of the claims during trial. Indeed, the parties are hereby given notice that any disputed claim construction, in general, should be addressed at trial and, if so, should be addressed clearly in a designated section of briefing rather than relegated to arguments on the merits of patentability. Claim construction, if necessary, will be determined at the close of the evidentiary record and after any hearing. slip op. at 15
- BurdenDecided for petitioner
“Compliance with the Particularity Requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 312(a)(3) Patent Owner asserts that the Petition fails to meet the particularity requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 312(a)(3). Prelim. Resp. 18–26. According to Patent Owner, “Petitioner’s excessive internal cross-referencing impermissibly forces the Board and Patent Owner to piece together scattered portions of the Petition (and exhibits).” Id. at 26. Patent Owner concludes that “the Petition fails to adequately map the references to the claim elements with particularity.” Id. We disagree. Using claims 1 and 10 as an example, Petitioner asserts: Claim 10 recites a “system for automatically processing 3D images” that is substantively identical to the “method for automatically processing 3D images” recited in claim 1, addressed above. Whereas claim 1 (the method claim) recites a series of steps, each performed “by a processor,” claim 10 (the system claim) recites a “processor” with stored instructions that perform the same steps recited in claim 1. Similarly, dependent claims 11–14, 16, and 26 are substantively identical to dependent claims 2–5, 7, and 19. Pet. 41–42. Claims 1 and 10 contain similar elements and limitations. Petitioner’s reference, for example, in the Petition’s analysis of claim 10, back to the analysis of claim 1 concerning nearly identical elements and limitations (id. at 42) is a matter of efficiency and is sufficiently clear for us to determine the basis for Petitioner’s challenges. We determine that the Petition does not violate the statutory requirement for particularity.” slip op. at 16
- Novelty / Anticipation (§102) › Anticipation standard (single reference, every element)Instituted
“We have considered Patent Owner’s arguments, but, on this record, are not persuaded. We recognize that Dr. Sonka provides a different opinion than Petitioner and Dr. Rosen. Dr. Sonka testifies that in his opinion “the distinctions between Renisch and claim 1 go beyond terminology.” Ex. 2014 ¶ 79. At this stage, in the absence of a full record, we need not record, it appears that Renisch discloses the elements of limitation [1(c)] at paragraphs 26–31, where it discloses obtaining a scanned 3D image of a fuller anatomy, i.e., a segmentation map, and then using a segmentation unit (76) to define the boundaries of anatomical structures of interest within that fuller anatomy, i.e., creating a plurality of segmentation masks, using a library, models, clustering, edge detection, region growing, neural networks, and/or an atlas of normal anatomical structures, and then identifying hot spots of interest within those anatomical structures of interest, and identifying organs with lesions and those without. Ex. 1005 ¶¶ 26–31. Based on the record before us and the specific disclosures in Renisch, as discussed in this Decision, we determine that Petitioner has met the “reasonable likelihood” standard necessary to institute an inter partes review proceeding. Although we address only Ground A and claims 1 and 10 herein for the purposes of institution, as noted above, we will address all asserted grounds and challenged claims in any final decision.” slip op. at 20
Claim construction§ 102 anticipationDiscretionary denialcites PhillipsPatents in suitUS 11,941,817 - Gettattle, Inc. v. Afterwords, Inc.InstitutedPTAB · Oct 7, 2025 · IPR2025-00677 · APJ Ryan H Flax · IPR · Institution
Instituted review of claims 1–7, 10, 13, 16, 18, and 19 on all four anticipation grounds because the Petition showed a reasonable likelihood of prevailing.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“Under 37 C.F.R. § 42.4(a), we have authority to determine whether to institute trial in an inter partes review. We may institute an inter partes review if the information presented in the petition filed under 35 U.S.C. § 311, and any preliminary response filed under § 313, shows that there is a reasonable likelihood that Petitioner would prevail with respect to at least one of the claims challenged in the petition. 35 U.S.C. § 314. After reviewing the parties’ submissions in view of the existing record, we conclude that Petitioner demonstrates a reasonable likelihood it would prevail in showing that at least one challenged claim of the ’811 patent is unpatentable under the presented grounds. See Pet. Therefore, we grant institution of inter partes review. Our reasoning is discussed below. A.” slip op. at 2
- Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner
“ORDINARY LEVEL OF SKILL IN THE ART Petitioner contends: As of the effective priority date of the ‘811 patent, a person of ordinary skill in the relevant field at the time would be familiar with the pre-existing point of sale and network-based technologies as above, for example in Section I.D. above as well as the “BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION” portion of the ‘811 patent specification. Ex. 1001, col. 1, l. 21 – col. 5, l. 10. This person would include someone who has, through education or practical experience, at least 2-3 years of experience in software engineering, such as the development of data sets, database management, and networking integration for dynamic content generation and network-based distribution. Pet. 10. Patent Owner states, “[f]or the purposes of this Preliminary Response only, Patent Owner applies Petitioner’s definition of a person of ordinary skill in the art. See Petition, p. 10.” Prelim. Resp. 14. We accept and use Petitioner’s proposed, and unopposed, definition of the ordinarily skilled artisan. It appears to comport with the level of skill in the art reflected in the prior art of record and the ’811 patent. See Okajima v. Bourdeau, 261 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (“the prior art itself [may] reflect[] an appropriate level” of the ordinary level of skill in the art) (quoting Litton Indus. Prods., Inc. v. Solid State Sys. Corp., 755 F.2d 158, 163 (Fed. Cir. 1985)). C.” slip op. at 10
- Claim Construction › Intrinsic evidence (Phillips canons) › Plain and ordinary meaning to a POSITATerm construed board ownOther
“The claim language does little to identify any meaning of “point-of- sale interface.” Looking to the ’811 patent’s written description, it never uses the term “point-of-sale interface,” but it states “moder[n] Point-of-Sale (POS) systems . . . capture rich details around their customers’ purchasing activity.” Ex. 1001, 1:52–54. The Specification further states that “[t]he transaction data may be stored locally to a point-of-sale (“POS”) device or to a remote location, such as a cloud service provider.” Id. at 2:23–25. Regarding the associated term “interface,” the written description states, “[i]n general, as used herein, an interface is a component of computer executable instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory medium and executed by processor 12 to present a display of information related to the interface allowing someone to view and/or interact with the presented information.” Id. at 4:32–37. We are pointed to and find nothing in the ’811 patent’s prosecution history that sheds any further light on the meaning of this language. See Pet. 12–14; Prelim. Resp. 12–13; Ex. 1003. Based on the intrinsic record, we find that the ’811 patent describes a point-of-sale as being local to a transaction, e.g., a sale/purchase of a product” slip op. at 14
- Novelty / Anticipation (§102) › Anticipation standard (single reference, every element)Instituted
“At this point in the proceeding, we do not agree with Patent Owner that the recited survey module must be autonomous, self-contained, or a web-container package. As discussed above, we preliminarily interpret this term to mean software code for displaying a survey question. We find no support in the current record to add to this definition any additional requirements related to autonomy, self-containment, or a web-based context for the survey module. The Petition (at 19) points to Douglas as teaching the claimed survey module, i.e., in Douglas, software sent to the customer for taking a product survey on the display of the customer’s computer device. Douglas teaches, in response to a customer providing a survey trigger (e.g., purchase data signals), a survey generator creates a transaction-specific survey (e.g., “Was the item you found too expensive?”) and transmits it to the customer’s device (e.g., a mobile phone with a touchscreen); the survey is interactive; and the customer touches or clicks their device’s screen to respond to the survey questions. Ex. 1007 ¶¶ 34–35. Moreover, Douglas also discloses that its survey “interact[s] with the customer using one or more software applications on customer device 106,” which may be, e.g., a computer or mobile phone, further, “[t]he one or more software applications may be provided by survey system 101, or merchant 107, or a third party,” and finally, “[t]he one or more software applications may be web-based applications and/or native mobile applications installed on the customer device 106.” Id. ¶¶ 18–20; see also Prelim. Resp. 35 (conceding as much). Thus, Douglas appears to disclose a survey system where a survey server responds to a triggering survey token created by a merchant and sent by a customer, that connects the customer with a particular purchase, by creating a purchase-specific survey question and sending it to a customer’s electronic device, where the survey question is displayed on a web-browser by software, and the customer’s survey answers may then spur the system to generate and follow up with additional questions. See Ex. 1007 ¶¶ 18–20, 27–29, 33–39. This appears to include the claimed survey module at issue. As for Patent Owner’s argument that the recited survey module must” slip op. at 31
Claim construction§ 102 anticipationcites PhillipsPatents in suitUS 10,430,811 - Xencor, Inc. v. Merus N.V.InstitutedPTAB · Sep 26, 2025 · IPR2025-00605 · APJ Tawen Chang · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted IPR on claims 1–7 and all petitioned grounds, finding a reasonable likelihood that claim 1 is anticipated by Desjarlais or Moore or obvious over Lazar alone.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“SAS, 138 S. Ct. at 1356. Thus, because we determine, based on the arguments and evidence on the present record, that there is a reasonable likelihood Petitioner would prevail with respect to claim 1, we institute an inter partes review of all challenged claims under each Ground presented in the Petition. Id.; see also 37 C.F.R. § 42.108(a) (“When instituting inter partes review, the Board will authorize the review to proceed on all of the challenged claims and on all grounds of unpatentability asserted for each claim.”). III. CONCLUSION For the reasons provided above, we find that Petitioner has demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of showing at trial that at least one of the challenged claims of the ’859 patent is unpatentable under at least one ground. Accordingly, we institute inter partes review of all challenged claims based on all the Grounds presented in the Petition.” slip op. at 49
- Disclosure Requirements (§112) › Written description (Ariad)Not entitled to earlier dateDecided for petitioner
“As Petitioner points out, the cited disclosure in the ’935 provisional does not “mention[] positions 364 and 368 together as a pair of positions for potential mutations on two chains.” Pet. 28 (citing Ex. 1002 ¶¶ 109–19). Although Patent Owner is correct that examples or actual reduction to practice are not required for adequate written description and “[a] specification may . . . contain a written description of a broadly claimed 34 invention without describing all species that [the] claim encompasses,” Prelim. Resp. 15 (quoting Ariad Pharms., 598 F.3d at 1352 and Cordis Corp. v. Medtronic AVE Inc., 339 F.3d 1352, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2003)), the ’935 provisional must still “reasonably convey[] to those skilled in the art that the inventor[s] had possession of the claimed subject matter” as of the relevant date. Regeneron Pharms., Inc. v. Mylan Pharms. Inc., 127 F.4th 896, 914 (Fed. Cir. 2025); Ariad, 598 F.3d at 1351. In this case, Table A of the ’935 provisional discloses a list of CH3 domain interface residues and identifies, for each interface residue in heavy chain A, the contacting residue in the corresponding chain B. Ex. 1030, 17, Table A. Table A does not, however, describe any particular substitutions or pairs of substitutions that should be made to the CH3 domains. See, e.g., Pet. 28 (citing Ex. 1002 ¶¶ 109–119). Table 7 of the ’935 provisional does identify specific amino acid substitutions in CH3 domains, including substitutions resulting in a positively charged residue at position 364 (e.g., S364K) and a negatively charged residue (e.g., L368D) at position 368. Ex. 1030, 52, Table 7. Patent Owner argues that this table “discloses specific positions for ‘identification of novel charge pair mutants.’” Prelim. Resp. 13 (citing Ex. 2010 ¶ 48). As Petitioner points out, however, while Example 13 of the ’935 provisional relates to identification of novel charge pair mutants, Table 7 itself was only a “first step” in this identification process. Ex. 1030, 51:6–17. In this step, “many interface contact residues in the IgG CH3 domain were scanned one by one or in groups for substitutions that would result in repulsion of 35 identical heavy chains” so that identified substitutions can then be used to generate antibodies “by engineering matched pairs of CH3 residues in one or more IgG heavy chains – CH3 regions” in follow up experiments. Id. Accordingly, Table 7 does not appear to describe heterodimer combinations, such as those that would result from a pairing of chains with different substitutions. Pet. 29–30 (citing, e.g., Ex. 1002 ¶¶ 111–118). As Petitioner further points out, the follow up experiments testing the matched pairs of CH3 residues did not include paired substitutions at positions 364 and 368. Id. at 29–31. Patent Owner points to disclosure in the ’935 provisional describing, as a distinguishing feature of its invention, the substitution of non-charged or neutral amino acids in wildtype CH3 with charged residues, which according to the ’935 provisional has the “advantage that at least one additional charge-charge interaction in the CH3 interface is created.” Prelim. Resp. 12 (citing, e.g., Ex. 2010 ¶¶ 42–48). For the same reasons discussed above, Petitioner has sufficiently established, for purposes of institution, that such disclosure would not reasonably convey to an ordinarily skilled artisan that the inventors had possession of the entire genus of heterodimeric antibodies comprising CH3 domains wherein a non-charged amino acid is replaced with a charged residue so as to create an additional charge-charge interaction in the CH3 interface. In this regard, we also note that “a description that merely renders the invention obvious does not satisfy the [written description] requirement.” Ariad, 598 F.3d at 1352.” slip op. at 34
- Novelty / Anticipation (§102) › Priority / effective filing date / continuation supportReference is prior artDecided for petitioner
“adequately describes a heterodimeric antibody comprising the recited charged residues at the recited positions of the CH3 domains, i.e., “a positively charged amino residue at position 364” at a first CH3 domain and “a negatively charged amino acid residue at position 368” of the second CH3 domain. Having considered the evidence of record at this preliminary stage of the proceeding, and for the reasons set forth below, we are persuaded that Petitioner has shown sufficiently, for purposes of institution, that the ’935 provisional does not provide adequate written description support for claim 1 of the ’859 patent and that, accordingly, Desjarlais and Moore qualify as prior art to that claim. As Petitioner points out, the cited disclosure in the ’935 provisional does not “mention[] positions 364 and 368 together as a pair of positions for potential mutations on two chains.” Pet. 28 (citing Ex. 1002 ¶¶ 109–19). Although Patent Owner is correct that examples or actual reduction to practice are not required for adequate written description and “[a] specification may . . . contain a written description of a broadly claimed 34 invention without describing all species that [the] claim encompasses,” Prelim. Resp. 15 (quoting Ariad Pharms., 598 F.3d at 1352 and Cordis Corp. v. Medtronic AVE Inc., 339 F.3d 1352, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2003)), the ’935 provisional must still “reasonably convey[] to those skilled in the art that the inventor[s] had possession of the claimed subject matter” as of the relevant date. Regeneron Pharms., Inc. v. Mylan Pharms. Inc., 127 F.4th 896, 914 (Fed. Cir. 2025); Ariad, 598 F.3d at 1351.” slip op. at 34
- Claim Construction › Intrinsic evidence (Phillips canons) › Plain and ordinary meaning to a POSITATerm construed board ownDecided for petitioner
“The ’859 patent does not provide an explicit definition of “immunoglobulin class.” Nevertheless, we do not construe that term to require “two heavy chains with four domains, VH, CH1, CH2, and CH3, and two Fab arms.” As an initial matter, the Specification teaches that antibodies include, 16 e.g., IgE and IgM — which have an additional CH4 domain in their heavy chains — as well as functional derivatives and/or fragments of known antibody isotypes. Ex. 1001, 11:44–48. Patent Owner’s proposed construction, which limits antibodies to those having two Fab arms and “two heavy chains with four domains, VH, CH1, CH2, and CH3,” excludes these embodiments and cannot be correct. Moreover, the ’859 patent defines antibody as containing “one or more domains” that bind an epitope on an antigen. Ex. 1001, 11:39–44. Thus, an antibody does not require two Fab arms as in a native immunoglobulin molecule.12 The ’859 patent also describes a preferred embodiment as “Ig-like molecules.” Id. at 11:49–52. Thus, we look to the definition of “Ig-like molecule” in the ’859 patent, i.e., “a proteinaceous molecule that possesses at least one immunoglobulin (Ig) domain,” to inform our understanding of the phrase “immunoglobulin class of proteins.” Ex. 1001, 11:4–6. Accordingly, we further construe “immunoglobulin class of proteins” to mean proteinaceous molecules comprising at least one domain that is derived from or shares sequence homology with an immunoglobulin domain.” slip op. at 16
Claim construction§ 102 anticipation§ 103 obviousness§ 112 disclosurecites Phillips · KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 11,926,859 - Xencor, Inc. v. Merus N.V.InstitutedPTAB · Sep 26, 2025 · IPR2025-00604 · APJ Ryan H Flax · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted IPR on claims 1, 2, 7–24, 26–28, and 30–32 on all four grounds, finding a reasonable likelihood that at least one challenged claim is unpatentable.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“institute trial in an inter partes review. We may institute an inter partes review if the information presented in the petition filed under 35 U.S.C. § 311, and any preliminary response filed under § 313, shows that there is a reasonable likelihood that Petitioner would prevail with respect to at least one of the claims challenged in the petition. 35 U.S.C. § 314. After reviewing the parties’ submissions in view of the existing record, we conclude that Petitioner demonstrates a reasonable likelihood it would prevail in showing that at least one challenged claim of the ’286 patent is unpatentable under the presented grounds. See Pet. Therefore, we grant institution of inter partes review. Our reasoning is discussed below. A.” slip op. at 2
- Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner
“A POSA at the time of the alleged invention would have at least an advanced degree (e.g., a Master’s or Ph.D.) in biochemistry, process chemistry, protein chemistry, chemical engineering, molecular and structural biology, biochemical engineering, or similar disciplines; several years of post-graduate training or related experience (including industry experience) in one or more of these areas; and two or more years of experience in the production of bispecific antibodies. (EX1002, ¶¶16-17.) Pet. 15. Patent Owner states, “[f]or purposes of the Preliminary Response, Patent Owner applies Petitioner’s proposed definition of a POSA.” Prelim. Resp. 10. At this point, we accept and use Petitioner’s proposed, and unopposed, definition of the ordinarily skilled artisan. It appears that Petitioner’s proposed definition comports with the level of skill in the art reflected in the prior art of record and the ’286 patent, itself. See Okajima v. Bourdeau, 261 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (“the prior art itself [may] reflect[] an appropriate level” as evidence of the ordinary level of skill in the art) (quoting Litton Indus. Prods., Inc. v. Solid State Sys. Corp., 755 F.2d 158, 163 (Fed. Cir. 1985)). C.” slip op. at 12
- Claim Construction › Intrinsic evidence (Phillips canons) › Plain and ordinary meaning to a POSITAPlain and ordinary meaningNo construction neededDecided for petitioner
“The ’286 patent uses the term “heavy chain” or “heavy chains” repeatedly; however, we find no express definition of the term. See generally Ex. 1001. Rather, the ’286 patent uses the term “heavy chain” in relation to antibody structure in a way that suggests the term is standard and well known in the art. See, e.g., id. at 3:19–59 (Background). The parties’ briefing on the technology reinforces this fact. See Pet. 5–14 (“The basic structure of natural IgG comprises four protein chains—two identical heavy chains (shown in red) and two identical light chains (shown in blue)—which are arranged in a Y-shaped configuration: . . . (EX1013, 112-13; EX1002, ¶¶23-30.)”); Prelim. Resp. 3–4 (“Natural or wild type Igs have a particular structure made of two identical light (L) chains and two identical heavy (H) chains. See EX2008 at ¶ 23. Each Ig heavy chain consists of three constant domains (CH1, CH2, and CH3) and one variable domain (VH), which is also isotypes, or a functional derivative and/or fragment of these. In a preferred embodiment, Ig-like molecules are produced that are antibodies of the IgG isotype because IgG antibodies e.g. have a longer half life as compared to antibodies of other isotypes. Ex. 1001, 11:9–21. As noted above (see supra Section I.C), IgG antibodies’ heavy chains have three constant domains, but IgE and IgM have four. Thus, Patent Owner’s argument that heavy chain means one variable and three constant domains, and two differently-binding Fab arms, ignores embodiments of the invention. consistent with the definition of heavy chain in the ’286 Patent. See EX2008 at ¶ 24; EX1001 at 11:58–66.”). This is also how the ’286 patent generally uses the term. See Ex. 1001, 11:58–12:1. But, the Specification does not limit its embodiments to only IgG antibodies because it also describes that the invention may be “IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA, IgE, and IgM” type antibodies, and fragments. Ex. 1001, 11:9–21; see also supra n.10 (quoting the ’286 patent’s definition of antibody). Other embodiments would not necessarily have the heavy chains as argued by Patent Owner. There is no evidence of record that the ’286 patent’s claims or the Specification generally use or limit the term “heavy chains” (or “heavy chain”) in any way deviating from its ordinary and customary meaning in the art. Therefore, at this stage of the proceeding, we decline to expressly interpret this claim language. 2. Summary on Claim Construction At this stage of the proceeding, we expressly construe no claim terms and give each claim term the ordinary and customary meaning it would have had to the person of ordinary skill in the art as of the invention date. See Nidec Motor Corp., 868 F.3d at 1017. If either party intends to further argue claim construction at trial, they should do so in a clearly designated section of their briefing so as to expressly identify such arguments. See, e.g., 37 C.F.R. § 42.104(b)(3) (content of petition); see also Board’s Consolidated Trial Practice Guide (CTPG) at 46, 48–45 (Nov. 2019).12 Claim construction arguments should not be relegated to patentability arguments on the facts.” slip op. at 16
- Novelty / Anticipation (§102) › Anticipation standard (single reference, every element)Instituted
“In brief summary, these limitations require one CH3 heavy chain to have a positive amino acid substituted in place of a neutral one, the other CH3 heavy chain to have a negative amino acid substituted in place of a neutral one, and that when the heavy chains are expressed by culturing the host cell these positive and negative amino acids interact and the antibody produced is a heterodimeric antibody. Petitioner asserts that Lazar expressly teaches engineering two CH3 domains so that, when expressed, they interact and form a heterodimeric CH3 interface by making neutral-to-positive and neutral-to-negative amino acid substitutions at known interacting residues on each CH3 domain, e.g., S364E (changing neutral serine to negative glutamic acid at residue 364) on one CH3 domain, and L368K (changing neutral leucine to positive lysine at residue 368) on the other CH3 domain; or T366D (swapping neutral threonine for negative aspartic acid at residue 366) on one CH3 domain and L351K (swapping neutral leucine for positive lysine at residue 351) on the other CH3 domain; that these residues were known in the art to be respective interfacing contact residues; that these modifications favor Fc heterodimerization; and that they result in a heterodimeric antibody (proof-of-concept shown by synthesizing and screening). Pet. 23–28 (citing Ex. 1001, 13:1–17, 17:67–18:3, 19:5–12; Ex. 1002 ¶¶ 111–119; Ex. 1004 ¶¶ 121, 183, 241 (Tables 1, 2); Ex. 1007, 8:9–10, 17:19–20 (Table 1); Ex. 1008, 244–36).” slip op. at 29
Claim construction§ 102 anticipation§ 103 obviousnesscites PhillipsPatents in suitUS 9,358,286 - PTAB · Jan 13, 2025 · IPR2024-01156 · APJ Jeffrey N Fredman · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted inter partes review of claims 1–30 on all grounds, finding it more likely than not that the claims are unpatentable.
RulingsInstitution decision- Claim Construction › Threshold & procedure › Whether a term needs construction (O2 Micro)No construction neededOther
“On the current record, there is no controversy over the meaning of any of the claim terms and neither party identifies a claim construction that would impact our analysis. We therefore find that, at this stage of the proceeding, there are no terms that need claim construction. See, e.g., Wellman, Inc. v. Eastman Chem. Co., 642 F.3d 1355, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (“[C]laim terms need only be construed ‘to the extent necessary to resolve the controversy.’”) (quoting Vivid Techs., Inc. v. Am. Sci. & Eng’g, Inc., 200 F.3d 795, 803 (Fed. Cir. 1999)).” slip op. at 7
- Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner
“VIII. LEVEL OF ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART Petitioner asserts (without opposition): A person of ordinary skill in the art (“POSA”) at the time of invention would have a working knowledge of microbiology and would have been involved in developing testing methodologies for analysis of samples such as food products (“validation methodologies”). The POSA would most likely have an advanced degree in microbiology, food science, or animal science and at least two years of work experience but may alternatively have a bachelor’s degree in those areas and at least four years of experience with validation methodologies. The POSA would have been familiar with relevant scientific literature and industry regulations, directives, and guidelines relating to validation methodologies.” slip op. at 8
- Novelty / Anticipation (§102) › Anticipation standard (single reference, every element)Instituted
“Determining whether claims are anticipated involves a two-step analysis. The first step involves construction of the claims of the patent at issue. Claim construction is a question of law reviewed de novo.” In re Aoyama, 656 F.3d 1293, 1296 (Fed.Cir.2011). “The second step [of an anticipation analysis] involves comparing the claims to the prior art. Anticipation is a question of fact reviewed for substantial evidence.” In re Aoyama, 656 F.3d at 1296. “A prior art reference anticipates a patent claim under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) if it discloses every claim limitation.” In re Montgomery, 677 F.3d 1375, 1379 (Fed. Cir. 2012). A reference may anticipate inherently if a claim limitation that is not expressly disclosed “is necessarily present, or inherent, in the single anticipating reference.” Verizon Servs. Corp. v. Cox Fibernet Va., Inc., 602 F.3d 1325, 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2010). slip op. at 9
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successMotivation foundReasonable expectation foundInstituted
“The motivation-to-combine analysis is a flexible one. “[A]ny need or problem known in the field of endeavor at the time of invention and addressed by the patent can provide a reason for combining the elements in the manner claimed,” [but the] “analysis ‘need not seek out precise teachings directed to the specific subject matter of the challenged claim, for a court can take account of the inferences and creative steps that a person of ordinary skill in the art would employ.’” Intel Corp. v. PACT XXP Schweiz AG, 61 F.4th 1373, 1379–80 (Fed. Cir. 2023) (quoting KSR, 550 U.S. at 418, 420 (emphasis added)). “[I]f there’s a known technique to address a known problem using ‘prior art elements according to their established functions,’ then there is a motivation to combine,” because KSR explains that “if a technique has been used to improve one device [or method], and a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that it would improve similar devices [or methods] in the same way, using the technique is obvious unless its actual application is beyond his or her skill.” Id. at 1380 (quoting KSR, 550 U.S. at 417; and Intel Corp. v. Qualcomm Inc., 21 F.4th 784, 797 (Fed. Cir. 2021)). If addressing a known problem, the prior art combination need not be “the best option, only . . . a suitable option.” Id. (quoting Intel, 21 F.4th at 800 (emphasis original)).” slip op. at 13
Claim construction§ 102 anticipation§ 103 obviousnesscites Phillips · KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 9,845,486 - PTAB · Oct 11, 2024 · IPR2024-00771 · APJ Grace Karaffa Obermann · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted IPR on claims 1–6 of the ’195 patent on all asserted grounds and granted Texas Instruments’ motion to join the Cirrus IPR.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“Because the Preliminary Response in the instant case includes arguments pertaining to the sufficiency of the asserted prior art references, which were not raised in the preliminary response in the Cirrus IPR, we briefly address below the patentability of the challenged claims.” slip op. at 6
- PTAB / AIA Trials › §315(b) time barNot time barredDecided for petitioner
“II. TIMELINESS OF THE PETITION UNDER 35 U.S.C. § 315(B) Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 315(b), “[a]n inter partes review may not be instituted if the petition requesting the proceeding is filed more than 1 year after the date on which the petitioner, real party in interest, or privy of the petitioner is served with a complaint alleging infringement of the patent.” Patent Owner argues that the Petition is untimely under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b) because Petitioner is in privity with time-barred entities. Prelim. Resp. 10– 30. However, 35 U.S.C. § 315(b) also provides that the one-year time bar “shall not apply to a request for joinder under subsection (c).” See also 37 C.F.R. § 42.122(b). Because the Petition is accompanied by a timely request for joinder (Paper 2) to the instituted proceeding (IPR2024-00017), which we grant as further discussed below, Patent Owner’s argument that the Petition is time-barred under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b) is moot, irrespective of whether Petitioner is in privity with time-barred entities.” slip op. at 5
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Joinder §315(c) / SAS all-or-nothingJoinder, grantedGranted
“B. Whether to Join Petitioner as a Party to the Cirrus IPR Joinder may be authorized when warranted, but the decision to grant joinder is discretionary. See 35 U.S.C. § 315(c); 37 C.F.R. § 42.122. A motion for joinder should (1) set forth reasons why joinder is appropriate; (2) identify any new grounds of unpatentability asserted in the petition; (3) explain what impact (if any) joinder would have on the trial schedule for the existing review; and (4) address specifically how briefing and discovery may be simplified. See, e.g., Kyocera Corp. v. Softview LLC, IPR2013- 00004, Paper 15 (PTAB April 24, 2013). As the moving party, Petitioner bears the burden of proving that it is entitled to the requested relief. 37 C.F.R. § 42.20(c). As an initial matter, we find the Motion for Joinder meets the timing requirements of 37 C.F.R. § 42.122(b) because Petitioner filed it on April 4, 2024, no later than one month after the Cirrus IPR was instituted on May 1, 2024.” slip op. at 9
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successNot reached
“5. “Aid the Movement of Minority Carriers” Patent Owner argues that the Petition fails to show that the applied prior art references disclose the claim limitations “requiring ‘aid the movement of minority carriers,’” as twice recited in claim 1. Prelim. Resp. 8. Patent Owner summarizes this dispute as follows: The challenged patent discloses and claims a semiconductor device with (among other things) a “drift layer having a graded concentration of dopants . . . [and] further having a first static unidirectional electric drift field to aid the movement of minority carriers.”[] The Petition should not be instituted, because (among other deficiencies) it fails to show that the prior art discloses the “aid the movement of minority carriers” claim limitation. Rather than pointing to anything in the prior art that would teach this claim limitation, the Petition assumes that any “graded concentration of dopants” would necessarily “aid the movement of minority carriers.” The Petition contains no analysis explaining why the “graded concentration of dopants” in the prior art meet the “aid the movement of minority carriers” limitation, apart from the fact that they are “graded concentration of dopants.” In other words, Petitioner reads the “aid the movement of minority carriers” limitation out of the claims completely. Id. at 1–2. Patent Owner includes additional details in support of its view that the asserted prior art fails to establish obviousness of the “aid carrier movement” limitations of claim 1. Prelim. Resp. 1–10.” slip op. at 8
§ 102 anticipation§ 103 obviousnessPatents in suitUS 8,421,195 - PTAB · Oct 9, 2024 · IPR2024-00733 · APJ Matthew S Meyers · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted IPR on claims 1–14 and all asserted grounds, finding a reasonable likelihood of success based on anticipation by Liddell and obviousness over Simpson and Liddell.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“determine whether to institute an inter partes review. 35 U.S.C. § 314; 37 C.F.R. § 42.4(a) (2020). The standard for instituting an inter partes review is set forth in 35 U.S.C. § 314(a), which provides that an inter partes review may not be instituted unless “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 [one] of the claims challenged in the petition.”” slip op. at 2
- Claim Construction › Intrinsic evidence (Phillips canons) › Preamble limiting or notPreamble not limitingTerm construed petitioner constructionDecided for petitioner
“preamble term “hand carriable” does not limit the claimed apparatuses. “[A] preamble is not limiting ‘where a patentee defines a structurally complete invention in the claim body and uses the preamble only to state a purpose or intended use for the invention.’” Catalina Marketing, 289 F.3d at 808 (quoting Rowe v. Dror, 112 F.3d 473, 478 (Fed. Cir. 1997)). This rule against giving effect to intended-use language in the preamble “reflects a longstanding substantive aspect of the patent statue—specifically, the ‘well settled’ fundamental principle ‘that the recitation of a new intended use for an old product does not make a claim to that old product patentable.’” Arctic Cat Inc. v. GEP Power Products, Inc., 919 F.3d 1320, 1328 (Fed. Cir. 2019) (quoting In re Schreiber, 128 F.3d 1473, 1477 (Fed. Cir. 1997)). In this case, we view the phrase “hand carriable,” as it appears in the preamble, to be indicative of an intended use of the claimed apparatuses, rather than a structural limitation, and as such, we do not see it to be limiting based on the current record. Patent Owner does not point to any particular structural limitation required by the preamble term “hand carriable.” See Prelim. Resp. 2–10. Although the independent claims each recite “a handle,” the claims do not explicitly tie this limitation to the “hand carriable” language in the preambles. In any case, to the extent the handle recited in the claims may be used for carrying the claimed apparatus, the claims need not rely on the preamble term “hand carriable” for antecedent basis, as the handle limitation is introduced in the body of the claims. In other words, with respect to the functionality of carrying the apparatus by hand, the claim bodies recite “a structurally complete invention.” Catalina Marketing, 289 F.3d at 808.” slip op. at 14
- Novelty / Anticipation (§102) › Anticipation standard (single reference, every element)Reference is prior artInstituted
“reasonable likelihood that it would prevail in challenging the patentability of independent claim 1. In our view, Petitioner’s analysis, on this record, adequately identifies where all the elements of claim 1 are found in Liddell.” slip op. at 28
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successMotivation foundInstituted
“On the current record, we find that the Petition provides sufficient rationale to modify Simpson in view of Liddell. See Pet. 57–61 (citing Ex. 1002 ¶¶ 250–267). For example, Petitioner contends that one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate Liddell’s cyclonic separating apparatus into Simpson’s vacuum cleaner in order to reap “the benefits of cyclonic separation, including maintaining steady suction as the separator fills with dirt.” Id. at 59 (citing Ex. 1002 ¶¶ 256– 259). Petitioner explains that Organ establishes that “bagless vacuums like ‘cyclonic’ vacuums were ‘becoming increasingly popular’” in the prior art because they are able “to maintain a consistently high level of suction, even as the collecting chamber fills with dirt” (id. (citing Ex. 1006, 1:8–13)), and relying on the declaration testimony of Dr. Giachetti, argues that one of ordinary skill in the art would have “would have been motivated to substitute Simpson’s dust separation system with a bagless cyclonic separator for the same reason” (id. (citing Ex. 1002 ¶ 281)).” slip op. at 38
Claim construction§ 102 anticipation§ 103 obviousnesscites Phillips · KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 10,327,607 - Cimbria Srl v. 3u Vision SrlInstitutedPTAB · Sep 20, 2024 · PGR2024-00018 · APJ Kevin W Cherry · PGR · Institution
The Board instituted PGR on claims 1–15 and all petitioned grounds, finding a reasonable likelihood that claims 1–3, 6, and 10 are obvious over ElMasry.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“Under 35 U.S.C. § 324(a), a post-grant review may be instituted only if “the information presented in the petition . . . demonstrate[s] that it is more likely than not that at least 1 of the claims challenged in the petition is unpatentable.” Post-grant review is available for patents that issue from applications that at one point contained at least one claim with an effective filing date on or after March 16, 2013. See Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, Pub. L. No. 112-29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011) (“AIA”), §§ 3(n)(1), 6(f)(2)(A). After considering the briefing and the evidence of record, for the reasons set forth below, we determine that Petitioner has shown that the ’947 patent is eligible for post-grant review, and has shown it is more likely than not that at least one challenged claim of the ’947 patent is unpatentable under § 324(a). Accordingly, we institute a post-grant review of the challenged claims of the ’947 patent.” slip op. at 2
- Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner
“Petitioner contends that a person of ordinary skill in the art “would have a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, or an equivalent field, and at least 2-3 years of academic or industry experience in engineering related to optical sorting systems.” Pet. 17 (citing Ex. 1009 ¶ 21). Patent Owner did not file a Preliminary Response to the Petition and, therefore, at this point, does not contest Petitioner’s definition for one of ordinary skill in the art. Petitioner’s proposed definition appears to be consistent with the disclosure of the ’947 patent, and we adopt it for purposes of this Decision. See Okajima v. Bourdeau, 261 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (explaining that the prior art itself may “reflect[] an appropriate level” of ordinary skill in the art) (quoting Litton Indus. Prods., Inc. v. Solid State Sys. Corp., 755 F.2d 158, 163 (Fed. Cir. 1985)).” slip op. at 11
- Claim Construction › Threshold & procedure › Whether a term needs construction (O2 Micro)No construction neededNot reached
“Having considered the record, we determine that no express claim construction is necessary for any claim terms for the purposes of rendering a decision to institute trial. See Nidec Motor Corp. v. Zhongshan Broad Ocean Motor Co., 868 F.3d 1013, 1017 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (holding that only claim terms in controversy need to be construed, and only to the extent necessary to resolve the controversy (citing Vivid Techs., Inc. v. Am. Sci. & Eng’g, Inc., 200 F.3d 795, 803 (Fed. Cir. 1999))). At this stage, we find it unnecessary to resolve whether “electronic control unit” and “processing module” should be construed as mean plus function limitations under § 112(f), because it is possible to address the obviousness grounds presented whether or not these limitations are so construed, and even if the claims were indefinite in the manner Petitioner contends. See Intel Corp. v. Qualcomm Inc., 21 F.4th 801, 813 (Fed. Cir. 2021) (noting indefiniteness of a means-plus-function limitation does not always render it impossible to adjudicate a prior-art challenge). We direct the parties to address the construction of these claim terms and Petitioner’s interpretation during trial.” slip op. at 13
- Obviousness (§103) › Graham factors (scope of art, differences, level of skill)Instituted
“We have reviewed Petitioner evidence and citations and, on the current record, we find that Petitioner has shown that it is more likely than not that ElMasry teaches all the limitations of claim 1, without need for any modification. Thus, we find that Petitioner has shown that it is more likely than not that claim 1 would have been unpatentable as obvious over ElMasry.” slip op. at 20
Claim construction§ 103 obviousness§ 112 disclosurePatents in suitUS 11,666,947
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.