Matthew Johnson

1 week ago | jdsupra.com | Robert Levent Hergüner |Matthew Johnson

[co-author: Aeden Bempong]*On April 17, 2025, following Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart’s memorandum announcing a new interim process to manage the workload of all PTAB judges, the USPTO held a Boardside Chat outlining the new bifurcated process that will apply to inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR) proceedings.

2 weeks ago | jdsupra.com | Matthew Johnson

The PTAB has published its monthly statistics wrap up for April 2025. As expected, those statistics show a significant decline in the institution rate compared to the first six months of fiscal year 2025. In those first six months, the overall institution rate was 68% (393 of 580). April showed a significant decline, with trial being instituted in only 38 out of 86 matters (44%).

3 weeks ago | jdsupra.com | Matthew Johnson |Daniel Sloan

On May 16, 2025, USPTO Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart released the first four discretionary denial decisions under the PTAB’s new process. Under the new process, the parties separately brief discretionary denial issues and then the Director issues a decision on whether discretionary denial is appropriate. The Acting Director discretionarily denied review in two cases and granted review in another two cases.

1 month ago | jdsupra.com | Matthew Johnson |Daniel Sloan

USPTO Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart recently vacated and remanded three Final Written Decisions from the PTAB. Semiconductor Components Indus. v. Greenthread, LLC, IPR2023-01242, IPR2023-01243, IPR2023-01244, Paper 94 (P.T.A.B. April 24, 2025). The Acting Director’s decision highlights the importance of scrutinizing the PTAB’s analysis of dispositive procedural matters.

1 month ago | jdsupra.com | Matthew Johnson |Evan Tassis

Recently, an ITC Administrative Law Judge applied IPR statutory estoppel under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) in denying a Respondent’s motion for summary determination of invalidity in Certain Audio Players and Components Thereof, Investigation No. 337-TA-1329. The ALJ reasoned that Respondent was barred from asserting the same references it successfully asserted at the PTAB.