<i>Cuozzo</i> Upholds PTAB Authority

In June, in Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC v. Lee, No. 15-446 (June 20, 2016), the Supreme Court upheld the prior Federal Circuit decision that a patent owner cannot, in most circumstances, appeal the decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to institute an inter partes review (IPR). The Supreme Court further found that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reasonably exercised its rulemaking authority in applying a “broadest reasonable construction” (BRC) standard to IPR claim constructions. Federal courts apply a narrower standard set forth in Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005), construing claims to have the ordinary and customary meaning as understood by one of skill in the art at the time of the invention.