- PTAB · Feb 10, 2026 · IPR2025-00717 · APJ Zhenyu Yang · IPR · Remand
On remand, the Board instituted IPR of claims 1–4 and 6–26 on all six asserted obviousness grounds, finding a reasonable likelihood of prevailing.
RulingsRemand decision- Director reviewDirector review, grantedOther
“The Director granted Director Review, finding that the panel “abused its discretion in granting institution of two petitions that each challenge the same claims” of the ’218 patent. Paper 39, 2. The Director vacated the DI and remanded the case “to the Board panel to determine which of the two petitions” to institute. Id. at 4.” slip op. at 4
- Parallel petitionsDecided for petitioner
“On November 4, 2025, we instituted inter partes review of all challenged claims based on all the grounds raised in the Petition. Paper 35 (“DI”). In the DI, we noted that “Petitioner filed an explanation regarding the necessity of multiple petitions,” and “Patent Owner d[id] not challenge that multiple petitions are necessary” in the Preliminary Response. Paper 23, 3 n.3.” slip op. at 3
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“inter partes review may not be instituted “unless . . . 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 provided below, we determine Petitioner has satisfied the threshold requirement set forth in 35 U.S.C. § 314(a). Therefore, we institute inter partes review of all challenged claims based on all the grounds raised in this Petition.3” slip op. at 4
- Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner
“Petitioner asserts that “[a] person of ordinary skill in the art [“POSITA”] would have at least a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field of study with at least two years of experience implementing pollution control in power generation plants for natural gas, coal, and/or industrial waste incineration.” Pet. 11 (citing Ex. 1002 ¶¶ 48–51). Patent Owner does not dispute the level of ordinary skill in the art. See generally Prelim Resp. For purposes of this Decision, we adopt Petitioner’s proposed definition of a POSITA because it is consistent with the skill level reflected in the disclosures of the ’218 patent and prior art. See Okajima, 261 F.3d at 1355 (the prior art may reflect an appropriate level of skill in the art).” slip op. at 10
Claim construction§ 103 obviousnessDiscretionary denialcites Phillips · KSRPatents in suitUS 10,926,218 - Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH v. Ellodi Pharmaceuticals, L.P.Adverse judgmentPTAB · Jan 26, 2026 · IPR2025-00055 · APJ Zhenyu Yang · IPR · Adverse judgment
The Board granted Patent Owner’s motion, entered adverse judgment against Patent Owner on claims 1–42 after statutory disclaimer, and terminated the proceeding.
RulingsAdverse judgment- Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentGranted
“A party may request judgment against itself at any time during a proceeding. 37 C.F.R. § 42.73(b). Under the Rules, actions construed as a request for entry of adverse judgment include “[c]ancellation or disclaimer of a claim such that the party has no remaining claim in the trial.” 37 C.F.R. § 42.73(b)(2). Here, Patent Owner has disclaimed, under 37 C.F.R. § 1.321, claims 1–42 of the ’407 patent, which constitute all challenged claims involved in this trial. See Ex. 2031. We thus construe the statutory disclaimer as a request for entry of adverse judgment. Having reviewed the statutory disclaimer, we determine that adverse judgment against Patent Owner with respect to claims 1–42 of the ’407 patent is appropriate.” slip op. at 2
NonePatents in suitUS 9,486,407 - Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH v. Ellodi Pharmaceuticals, L.P.Adverse judgmentPTAB · Jan 23, 2026 · IPR2025-00054 · APJ John G New · IPR · Adverse judgment
The Board granted Patent Owner’s unopposed motion and entered adverse judgment against Patent Owner as to claims 1–16 after statutory disclaimer.
RulingsAdverse judgment- Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentGranted
“A party may request judgment against itself at any time during a proceeding. Actions construed to be a request for adverse judgment include … [d]isclaimer of the involved application or patent.” 37 C.F.R. § 42.73(b)(1). We find that good cause exists to grant Patent Owner’s unopposed request for adverse judgment and to terminate this proceeding. Consequently, we grant Patent Owner’s Motion to Terminate and Request for Adverse Judgment. slip op. at 2
NonePatents in suitUS 11,246,828 - Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH v. Ellodi Pharmaceuticals, L.P.Adverse judgmentPTAB · Jan 23, 2026 · IPR2025-00052 · APJ John G New · IPR · Adverse judgment
The Board granted Patent Owner’s unopposed motion and entered adverse judgment against Patent Owner as to claims 1–17 following statutory disclaimer of all claims.
RulingsAdverse judgment- Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentGranted
“A party may request judgment against itself at any time during a proceeding. Actions construed to be a request for adverse judgment include … [d]isclaimer of the involved application or patent.” 37 C.F.R. § 42.73(b)(1). We find that good cause exists to grant Patent Owner’s unopposed request for adverse judgment and to terminate this proceeding. Consequently, we grant Patent Owner’s Motion to Terminate and Request for Adverse Judgment. slip op. at 2
NonePatents in suitUS 10,632,069 - Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH v. Ellodi Pharmaceuticals, L.P.Adverse judgmentPTAB · Jan 23, 2026 · IPR2025-00056 · APJ Ryan H Flax · IPR · Adverse judgment
The Board entered adverse judgment against Patent Owner on claims 1–30 after it statutorily disclaimed all claims, and terminated the IPR.
RulingsAdverse judgment- Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentGranted
“A party may request judgment against itself at any time during a proceeding. Actions construed to be a request for adverse judgment include . . . [d]isclaimer of the involved application or patent.” 37 C.F.R. § 42.73(b)(1). We find good cause exists to grant Patent Owner’s unopposed request for adverse judgement and to terminate this proceeding. Thus, we grant Patent Owner’s Motion to Terminate and Request for Adverse Judgment. slip op. at 2
NonePatents in suitUS 11,260,061 - Illumina Inc. v. Molecular Loop Innovations LLCAll claims unpatentablePTAB · Jan 16, 2026 · IPR2024-00965 · APJ Annette R Reimers · IPR · Final written decision
Claims 1–6 are unpatentable: Gloor anticipates them, Parameswaran and Gloor render them obvious, and Parameswaran, Binladen, and Bentley render claim 6 obvious.
RulingsFinal written decision- Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner
“Petitioner asserts that a person of skill in the art (“POSA”) “would have had (i) a Ph.D. in molecular biology, genetics, bioinformatics, or a related field and at least two years of experience in high-throughput sequencing technologies or (ii) a Master’s degree in one of the same fields with at least four years of experience in high-throughput sequencing technologies.” Pet. 18 (citing Ex. 1003 ¶¶ 19–20). Patent Owner states that it adopts Petitioner’s proposal for a POSA for purposes of this proceeding. PO Resp. 13 (citing Ex. 2001 ¶¶ 20–23). After reviewing the record, we adopt Petitioner’s proposed definition of the skill level as it is consistent with the prior art’s demonstration of the level of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention. We find both Dr. Spellman and Dr. Adalsteinsson are qualified to opine from the perspective of a POSA, because each has at least ordinary skill in the art. See Ex. 1003 ¶¶ 4–15; Ex. 2001 ¶¶ 4–9.” slip op. at 9
- Claim Construction › Intrinsic evidence (Phillips canons) › Plain and ordinary meaning to a POSITATerm construed petitioner constructionDecided for petitioner
“We acknowledge the ambiguous nature of the disputed claim language. On its face, it could require two or more identifier sequences together be uniquely associated with the nucleic acid of interest, as Petitioner argues; or it could require two or more identifier sequences, each individual identifier sequence must be uniquely associated with the nucleic acid of interest, as Patent Owner asserts. See Reply 2–3; Sur-reply 1–6. We, therefore, must examine the words of the claim and the specification to ascertain the scope of this limitation. The specification states that “[w]hile the pair of barcodes associated with any given template is unique, individual barcode sequences can be used with multiple templates as long as no pair is used across two different samples.” Ex. 1001, 2:50–53 (emphasis added). Elsewhere, it states that [t]he first and second identifiers are designed such that each set of identifiers is correlated to a particular sample (e.g., material obtained from a particular patient or group of patients), allowing samples to be distinguished and/or validated. The first and second identifiers may be the same or different, so long as the combination is unique with respect to the sample or sub-sample that one seeks to distinguish and/or validate. Id. at 3:15–22 (emphases added). We agree with Petitioner that the specification supports its proposed construction. See Reply 2.” slip op. at 10
- Claim Construction › Intrinsic evidence (Phillips canons) › Lexicography (patentee as own lexicographer)Term construed patent owner constructionDecided for patent owner
“Claim 5 recites “homopolymer region.” The ’200 patent specification provides an express definition for the term, stating that “the barcode sequences can be designed to have minimal or no homopolymer regions, i.e., 2 or more of the same base in a row such as AA or CCC, within the barcode sequence.” Ex. 1001, 9:6–10. Thus, we agree with Patent Owner that the term “homopolymer region” should be construed as “two or more of the same base in a row.” See PO Resp. 13 (citing Ex. 2001 ¶ 24). Claim terms need only be construed to the extent necessary to resolve the controversy. Wellman, Inc. v. Eastman Chem. Co., 642 F.3d 1355, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2011). On this record and for purposes of this Decision, we see no need to expressly construe any other claim term.” slip op. at 13
- Novelty / Anticipation (§102) › Prior-art status of a reference › Printed publication / public accessibilityPrinted publication establishedDecided for petitioner
“A reference is considered publicly accessible if it is “made available to the extent that persons interested and ordinarily skilled in the subject matter or art, exercising reasonable diligence, can locate it.” Jazz Pharms., Inc. v. Amneal Pharms., LLC, 895 F.3d 1347, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2018). To “determine whether an interested researcher would have been sufficiently capable of finding the reference and examining its contents,” we “must consider all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the disclosure.” In re Lister, 583 F.3d 1307, 1312 (Fed. Cir. 2009); see also In re Klopfenstein, 380 F.3d 1345, 1350 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (explaining that a determination of whether a reference qualifies as a printed publication “involves a case-by-case inquiry into the facts and circumstances surrounding the reference’s disclosure to members of the public”).” slip op. at 15
Patent outcomesUS 11,768,200 unpatentableClaim construction§ 102 anticipation§ 103 obviousnesscites Phillips · KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 11,768,200 - Illumina Inc. v. Molecular Loop Innovations LLCNo claims unpatentablePTAB · Jan 13, 2026 · IPR2024-00964 · APJ Annette R Reimers · IPR · Final written decision
Claims 1–8 were not shown unpatentable over either asserted §103 combination because the prior art did not teach the discarding step or establish a reasonable expectation of success.
RulingsFinal written decision- Claim Construction › Intrinsic evidence (Phillips canons) › Plain and ordinary meaning to a POSITATerm construed patent owner constructionDecided for patent owner
“specification to interpret the meaning of a claim and importing limitations from the specification into the claim can be a difficult one to apply in practice.” Phillips, 415 F.3d at 1323. “[T]he line between construing terms and importing limitations”, however, “can be discerned with reasonable certainty and predictability if [our] focus remains on understanding how a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand the claim terms.” Id. Ultimately, we construe claim terms to “capture the scope of the actual invention more accurately than either strictly limiting the scope of the claims to the embodiments disclosed in the specification or divorcing the claim language from the specification.” Id. at 1324. Here, we are tasked with resolving the dispute between the parties as to the scope of the source of the claimed cross-over error. See Sur-reply 2. Although claim 1 does not explicitly recite cross-over error is created during cluster amplification, the specification shows otherwise. It repeatedly, consistently, and exclusively describes cross-over errors as arising from the formation of chimeric molecules during the amplification step of the sequencing workflow. See Ex. 1001, Fig. 1, Fig. 2, 4:29–52 (describing “improper molecular overlap via formation of a heteroduplex between patient A’s nucleic acid template and patient B’s nucleic acid template” “[w]hen the amplification process begins”), 5:29–58 (the same), 6:25–44 (the same), 6:64–7:23 (the same).” slip op. at 15
- Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner
“Petitioner asserts that a person of skill in the art (“POSA”) “would have had (i) a Ph.D. in molecular biology, genetics, bioinformatics, or a related field and at least two years of experience in high-throughput sequencing technologies or (ii) a Master’s degree in one of the same fields with at least four years of experience in high-throughput sequencing technologies.” Pet. 17 (citing Ex. 1003 ¶¶ 19–20). Patent Owner states that it adopts Petitioner’s proposal for a POSA for purposes of this proceeding. PO Resp. 13 (citing Ex. 2001 ¶¶ 19–22). We adopt Petitioner’s proposed definition of the skill level as it is consistent with the prior art’s demonstration of the level of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention. We find both Dr. Spellman and Dr. Adalsteinsson are qualified to opine from the perspective of a POSA, because each has at least ordinary skill in the art. See Ex. 1003 ¶¶ 4–15; Ex. 2001 ¶¶ 4–9.” slip op. at 8
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successNot shown unpatentableReasonable expectation not foundNot shown unpatentable
“The reasonable expectation of success requirement refers to the likelihood of success in combining references to meet the limitations of the claimed invention.” Intelligent Bio-Sys., Inc. v. Illumina Cambridge Ltd., 9 Because, as explained below, we find Petitioner has not met its burden to show reasonable expectation of success, we do not need to address whether Petitioner has shown sufficient reason to combine the asserted references. 821 F.3d 1359, 1367 (Fed. Cir. 2016); see also Allergan, Inc. v. Apotex Inc., 754 F.3d 952, 966 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (stating that “failure to consider the appropriate scope of the . . . patent’s claimed invention in evaluating the reasonable expectation of success . . . constitutes a legal error”). Here, the claimed invention is a method for reducing template cross-over error. Thus, we must determine whether, in December 2010, an ordinarily skilled artisan would have reasonably expected that the combination of Parameswaran and Gloor would reduce template cross-over error. slip op. at 26
- Obviousness (§103) › Graham factors (scope of art, differences, level of skill)Not shown unpatentableNot shown unpatentable
“Thus, on this record, we are persuaded by Patent Owner’s argument that Parameswaran’s “unexpected perfect pairings of unmatched forward and reverse barcodes” are not cross-over error. PO Resp. 31 (citing Ex. 2001 ¶¶ 116–123). In addition, as Petitioner acknowledges, Parameswaran merely “distinguished,” but did not “discard” sequences with mismatches. Pet. 34. Parameswaran states that “[t]he low false-discovery rate for perfect matches strengthens the argument that any sequence with both 5’ and 3’ barcode motifs will be placed with reasonable accuracy into the correct bin.” Ex. 1004, 8. But, because Parameswaran achieved a “remarkably low misassignment rate,” it did not discard, but included any sequence with a matched barcode. Id. Indeed, Parameswaran explains that “[f]or our purposes, all sequences with a match to one of the two expected sequence motifs were considered as true members of the corresponding dataset.” Id. In its Reply, Petitioner emphasizes Parameswaran’s language “[f]or our purposes.” Reply 14 (citing Ex. 1004, 8). According to Petitioner, “[a] POSA would have understood from Parameswaran that chimeric sequences could be kept or discarded, depending on the sequencing ‘purpose.’” Id. (citing Ex. 1054 ¶¶ 79–82). Petitioner is asking us to deem unpatentable a claim based on its reading of “for our purposes,” a broad, undefined statement, to mean something specific—a suggestion to discard perfect unexpected pairings, which Parameswaran explicitly did not do. See Ex. 1004, 8. Petitioner has not presented sufficient evidence and persuasive argument for us to do so.” slip op. at 24
Patent outcomesUS 11,041,852 not shown unpatentableClaim construction§ 103 obviousnesscites Phillips · KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 11,041,852 - Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. / Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. et al. v. Bayer Pharma AktiengesellschaftAdverse judgmentPTAB · Jan 12, 2026 · IPR2022-01513 · APJ Ryan H Flax · IPR · Adverse judgment
The Board granted Petitioners’ withdrawal and entered adverse judgment against them on remanded claims 5–8; claims 1–4 remained affirmed as unpatentable.
RulingsAdverse judgment- Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentGranted
“A party may request judgment against itself at any time during a proceeding. Actions construed to be a request for adverse judgment include: . . . [a]bandonment of the contest.” 37 C.F.R. §42.73(b)(4). We find good cause exists to grant Petitioners’ request to withdraw from the proceedings, which is a request for adverse judgement (with respect to challenged claims 5–8). slip op. at 3
NonePatents in suitUS 10,828,310 - Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. / Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. et al. v. Bayer Pharma AktiengesellschaftAdverse judgmentPTAB · Jan 12, 2026 · IPR2022-01515 · APJ Ryan H Flax · IPR · Adverse judgment
The Board granted Petitioners’ withdrawal request and entered adverse judgment against them as to claims 5–8; claims 1–4 remained affirmed as unpatentable.
RulingsAdverse judgment- Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentGranted
“A party may request judgment against itself at any time during a proceeding. Actions construed to be a request for adverse judgment include: . . . [a]bandonment of the contest.” 37 C.F.R. §42.73(b)(4). We find good cause exists to grant Petitioners’ request to withdraw from the proceedings, which is a request for adverse judgement (with respect to challenged claims 5–8). slip op. at 3
NonePatents in suitUS 10,828,310 - Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. / Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. et al. v. Bayer Pharma AktiengesellschaftAdverse judgmentPTAB · Jan 12, 2026 · IPR2022-00517 · APJ Ryan H Flax · IPR · Adverse judgment
The Board granted Petitioners’ withdrawal request and entered adverse judgment against them as to claims 5–8 after remand.
RulingsAdverse judgment- Adverse judgmentAdverse judgmentGranted
“A party may request judgment against itself at any time during a proceeding. Actions construed to be a request for adverse judgment include: . . . [a]bandonment of the contest.” 37 C.F.R. §42.73(b)(4). We find good cause exists to grant Petitioners’ request to withdraw from the proceedings, which is a request for adverse judgement (with respect to challenged claims 5–8). slip op. at 3
NonePatents in suitUS 10,828,310
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.