Patent practitioners received guidance Wednesday on when a US administrative board will not deny review of patent challenges based on parallel infringement litigation.
The guidance memo issued by US Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal addresses the agency’s controversial framework established in Apple v. Fintiv, which allows the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to deny review based on parallel patent infringement cases in federal courts or at a trade agency.
Critics of the so-called “Fintiv” rule have said it’s been applied inconsistently by PTAB judges. Nearly two dozen companies earlier this year pushed for its repeal, arguing it ...