Patent Review Decisions Unappealable, Even With Arbitration Issue

The Federal Circuit declined to review a dispute over whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board should have considered an arbitration agreement before granting Rohm Semiconductor USA LLC ‘s petition to review several patents, ruling the board’s institution decisions aren’t appealable.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed four appeals filed by patent holder MaxPower Semiconductor Inc. in a precedential order. The court also rejected MaxPower’s argument that mandamus relief is appropriate, finding it can meaningfully raise its arbitration-related challenges after the board makes its final rulings on patent validity.

That drew a partial dissent from ...