The US Patent and Trademark Office rescinded a Biden-era memorandum limiting an administrative tribunal’s discretion for declining to review patent challenges based on parallel infringement litigation.
The memo issued in June 2022 by then-PTO director Kathi Vidal addressed the agency’s controversial framework established in Apple v. Fintiv allowing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to turn down reviews of patents already being asserted in district court.
The PTO said in a Friday press release the patent board post-grant proceedings should now refer to precedent set in cases like Fintiv and Sotera Wireless v. Masimo.
“To the extent any other ...