Patent Director Gives ResMed Second Shot to Challenge Apnea Tech

US Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal granted ResMed Corp. another opportunity to argue that its challenge to a Cleveland Medical Devices Inc. patent should move forward despite an upcoming trial in parallel litigation.

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board erred by relying on another tribunal decision that the director had vacated when it denied the medical device company’s petition to invalidate a patent covering technology to treat sleep disorders, the Nov. 16 decision said. Vidal vacated the denial and allowed each party to supplement their briefing about time-to-trial statistics of the judge in the district court litigation.

The ...