Big Tech Giants Appeal Patent Office Fintiv Rule to Fed. Circuit

Apple Inc., Google LLC, Intel Corp., and Cisco Systems Inc. are again taking their fight against a controversial patent office rule used to deny certain patent validity reviews to the Federal Circuit.

The companies filed a notice of appeal on Wednesday, a month and a half after the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled the US Patent and Trademark Office wasn’t required to hold notice-and-comment rulemaking for the rule, often referred to as Fintiv, because it doesn’t affect individual rights and gives agency officials the ability to exercise discretion.

The Fintiv rule allows ...