Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

New Bifurcated PTAB Pretrial Procedure: Procedural Deep Dive and Possible Implications

By Scott Cummings
March 31, 2025

In the latest action part of a recent whirlwind of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) policy and procedural change around the use of so-called “discretionary denial” to refuse to a challenge to the validity of a granted patent, the Acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Coke Morgan Stewart has issued a memorandum creating a new “bifurcated” pretrial procedure to be used for deciding whether or not to proceed with a trial in response to a petition for inter partes review or post grant review of a granted patent.

Background

Fintiv

The precedential 2020 decision in Apple Inc. v. Fintiv, Inc. (Fintiv), IPR2020-00019, Paper 11 (PTAB Mar. 20, 2020), held that the PTAB could exercise its discretion and deny a request for patentability review when there was a concurrent proceeding involving the challenged patent, such as District Court litigation or an ITC proceeding, that could potentially address the question of patentability before completion of a trial by the PTAB.
Fintiv had been criticized by some stakeholders as increasing the number of cases denied review, creating uncertainty, and undermining the intent of the America Invents Act by denying access to meritorious patentability reviews.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws Image

This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin Image

With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.

The Article 8 Opt In Image

The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.

Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York Image

In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?

Fresh Filings Image

Notable recent court filings in entertainment law.