July 2016 — Supreme Court Upholds AIA Provision Barring Judicial Review of Decision to Institute IPR

Under the America Invents Act (“AIA”), a third party may challenge the validity of an issued United States patent by filing a request for inter partes review (“IPR”). The Patent Trials and Appeal Board of the United States Patent Office (“Appeal Board”) will grant the request and institute the IPR if it finds a reasonable likelihood that the invention was previously disclosed or obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art. In a statute establishing the IPR process, Congress stated that “[t]he determination by the Director whether to institute an inter partes review under this section shall be final and non-appealable.”
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June 2016 — Despite Supreme Court Victory, Patent Owner’s $63 Million Award Vacated on Remand

In May of 2015, Commil USA (a patent holding company) won a major victory before the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that an accused infringer’s good faith belief in the invalidity of a patent is not a defense against an allegation of inducement of infringement.
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April 2016 — How Not to Undersell the Invention in a Patent Application

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY IN A PATENT: In in re: Morsa, the Federal Circuit held a patent, which was drafted and prosecuted by an inventor himself, to be invalid as anticipated over a prior art reference. In finding anticipation, the Federal Circuit partially relied on the statements in the patent regarding the knowledge a PHOSITA would have.
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October 2015 — Federal Circuit Gives Patent Office Wide Discretion in Inter Partes Review

In in re Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC, the Federal Circuit held that the decision by the USPTO to institute an Inter Partes Review is not appealable and that the USPTO is free to use the "broadest reasonable interpretation standard" of claim construction during the review.
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July 2015 — The Supreme Court Issues a Pro-Patentee Decision -- Still Manages to Overturn the Federal Circuit

In what is likely to be a boon for patentees in court, the Supreme Court recently ruled that a good faith belief in the invalidity of a patent is not a defense against an allegation of inducement of infringement.  The decision in Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Systems continues the trend of the Supreme Court in overturning the Federal Circuit on seemingly fundamental issues of patent law.
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