Patent Office Sued Over Expanded Tribunal Panel Documents (1)

The US Patent and Trademark Office is facing a lawsuit accusing it of withholding agency records about cases at its appeal board, where the panel of judges was expanded without notifying the parties.

Inventor Josh Malone sued the patent office over his unfulfilled Freedom of Information Act request, according to the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Tuesday.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a decision ordering the reinstatement of Judge Michael Fitzpatrick, who said he was reassigned after raising concerns about attempts to expand the number of judges on a ...