Qualcomm Wins Another Agency Look at Patent Apple Had Challenged

Qualcomm Inc. convinced the Federal Circuit that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office improperly invalidated parts of its semiconductor patent based on admissions made in the patent itself.

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board had agreed with Apple Inc. that claims in U.S. Patent No. 8,063,674 were obvious based on prior art and Qualcomm’s disclosures in the patent.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed with Qualcomm and the patent office that the “patents or printed publications” that form the basis of a ground for inter partes review must themselves be prior art to the challenged patent. ...