Last year, Patent Progress reported on a troll targeting the GNOME Foundation, a major open source coordinating entity. Despite Director Iancu’s public statement claiming that trolls are a myth, this troll was very real. In fact, it was one of the Rothschild NPEs, one of a plethora of companies Leigh Rothschild has used in nearly…
Blog Posts
Thryv, the PTAB, and the APA
by Josh Landau •
April’s Thryv decision by the Supreme Court clarified the nonappealability of institution decisions in inter partes review (IPR). But by placing an absolute bar on appeal of institution decisions, Thryv effectively insulated the PTO’s choice of institution rules from appeal. That’s not a good situation, and it’s one which the Director should actively seek to…
Open COVID Science Shows Patents Not The Only Incentive
by Josh Landau •
The standard economic justification for patents is that they provide an incentive for inventions that we wouldn’t otherwise have. In exchange for providing a patent owner with compensation for its invention, the inventor describes a new idea to the public and 20 years later, the public can use it. There’s a lot of reasons why…
PTO Patent Licensing Marketplace Shows Potential, But Will Licensors Embrace It?
by Josh Landau •
This month, the PTO announced that it would be opening up an online licensing market, “Patents 4 Partnerships.” The market, which will initially focus on COVID-related patents, is intended to provide a centralized and easily accessible database of U.S. patents and published patent applications that have been voluntarily made available for licensing. There’s a number…
In Thryv, Supreme Court Clarifies Bar On Review of Institution Decisions
by Josh Landau •
In today’s decision in Thryv v. Click-To-Call, the Supreme Court held that the AIA means what it says—decisions to institute an inter partes review “shall be final and nonappealable.”
COVID-19’s Impacts on the USPTO’s Budget
by Josh Landau •
Certain choices the USPTO has made will exacerbate the impacts of COVID-19 on the Patent Office—in particular, its choice to defer the majority of its fee collection to issue and maintenance fees.
A Follow-up on CyWee and ZTE v. LG and the Public
by Josh Landau •
A few weeks ago, I covered a PTAB case that illustrates why the PTO’s proposed rule on who bears the burden on amended claims in IPRs is fatally flawed. In that case, ZTE challenged a CyWee patent and LG joined the ZTE petition. But CyWee filed an amended claim that ZTE wasn’t concerned by. ZTE…
Patents in the Time of Coronavirus
by Josh Landau •
Most of the time, the patents I cover involve investment in technology and who gets how much money. Innovation is important, but the patent lawsuits I write about usually don’t directly threaten public health and welfare. Usually. Today’s a little different. Earlier this week, Mike Masnick at Techdirt reported on what might be the single…
CyWee, ZTE, and the PTAB v. the Public Interest
by Josh Landau •
In an order issued this week in IPR2019-00143, a panel of PTAB judges decided that the public has no interest in ensuring that only valid patent claims issue from the Patent Office. That’s not an exaggeration—if anything, it understates the case. In fact, the PTAB order states that “the public is generally likely to benefit…
It’s Time For The ITC To Recognize Smartphones Impact Public Welfare
by Josh Landau •
Another day, another patent troll filing an ITC complaint. In this case, Neodron—an Irish NPE—is trying to block the sale of products made by three prominent American tech companies: Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. This isn’t Neodron’s first ITC case, and it remains a travesty that the ITC continues to allow foreign non-practicing entities to use…