Apple’s ‘Fintiv’ Challenge Ups Pressure for Patent Review Rules

The Federal Circuit’s revival of a challenge to the US Patent and Trademark Office’s controversial “rule” used to deny certain patent validity challenges, could push the agency to complete a formal rulemaking that codifies the practice and the factors considered under it.

The March 13 decision gave new life to an Apple Inc. lawsuit attempting to knock out a pair of Patent Trial and Appeal Board precedents collectively known as NHK-Fintiv, which allow the board to refuse a patent review if it’s already involved in district court litigation.

Tech companies including Google LLC, Intel Corp., and Cisco Systems ...