Verizon, Others Say Patent Office’s Challenge Rule Ignores Reality

More than a dozen companies, including Verizon Services Corp., Twitter Inc., and Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., have urged a California district court to strike down a patent office rule surrounding validity trials, arguing the rule is bad for the patent system.

The companies, along with industry groups like the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, sought permission to file an amicus brief in an Apple Inc.-led lawsuit that challenges the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s NHK-Fintiv rule.

The rule authorizes judges at the agency’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board to deny review based on the state of a parallel ...