Patent Head Clarifies Denials of Review for ‘Serial’ Petitions

US Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal clarified how to apply factors the Patent Trial and Appeal Board uses to deny review of “serial” petitions challenging the same patent.

Vidal’s clarification came Tuesday in a director review decision in which she vacated two PTAB denials last month of inter partes review for patents related to faster data communication (US Patent Nos. 10,257,319 and 10,484,510). The patents have been at the heart of infringement litigation in the Eastern District of Texas that Bright Data Ltd. filed against Teso LT, UAB and related companies.

The board relied on factors established ...