Ford Wins Invalidating MIT Ethanol Patents Affirmed on Appeal

The Federal Circuit affirmed tribunal decisions nixing parts of three patents covering a system for using ethanol in gasoline engines, which Ford Motor Co. was accused of infringing.

In a precedential opinion Tuesday, the appeals court rejected Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s arguments that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board exceeded its authority by delaying a decision in Ford’s validity challenges to await a decision in a related appeal.

While MIT characterized its appeal as being about the PTAB’s effective stay of a rehearing petition, the three-judge panel said it’s a challenge to the board’s decision to take up Ford’s petitions, ...