Patent Office Chief Orders Verizon to Justify Challenge to Omega

The acting director of the US Patent and Trademark Office ordered Verizon Connect Inc. to explain why its challenge to Omega Patents LLC’s vehicle-control technology shouldn’t be terminated.

Coke Stewart wrote May 2 that patent judges “failed to explain adequately” their decision that Omega wasn’t entitled to a presumption connecting its successful commercial products and the patented invention. The board didn’t “sufficiently address Patent Owner’s evidence of licensing” which previously weighed in its favor.

Stewart was responding to Omega’s request for director review of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision. While the proceeding would typically be remanded to the ...