Patent Chief Bars Challenge From Chinese Government-Linked Firm

US Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires rejected a Chinese company’s patent-validity challenge, announcing a new ground to turn petitions away: government ownership interest in the challenging company.

Squires denied a petition by Tianma Microelectronics Co. that had sought proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, where it would’ve attacked as obvious a LG Display Co. patent. The director said LG persuasively showed that a Chinese government-owned defense firm owned 10% or more of Tianma.

He said the decision follows from the US Supreme Court’s 2019 decision in Return Mail Inc. v. US Postal Service, which held ...