Supreme Court - Applicant Not Obligated to Pay USPTO under 35 USC §145

If an applicant cannot convince the USPTO (i.e., PTAB) to grant a US patent, it can appeal the adverse decision to the Federal Circuit (35 USC §141) or file a lawsuit against the USPTO director in the US district court for the Eastern District of Virginia (35 USC §145). However, because a §145 lawsuit permits discovery, experts reports, and motions, it can be very expensive for both parties.

In Peter v. NantKwest, the US Supreme Court held that an applicant is not obligated to pay the USPTO legal personnel (e.g., attorneys and paralegals) under §145.

See the opinion for all the reasons for this holding, but some of the reasons were (1) the term “expenses” alone has never authorized an award of attorney fees to overcome the American Rule (each litigant pays his own attorney fees), (2) the term “all” in §145 cannot transform “expenses” to reach an outlay it wouldn't otherwise include, and (3) Congress has distinguished “expenses” and “attorney’s fees” in the past. Finally, history didn’t seem to help the USPTO as it was the first request for attorney fees in the 170-year history of §145.

Not a case likely to reach many, but it may help applicants faced with an adverse PTAB decision when the benefit outweighs the increased cost of your attorney fees for the lawsuit over an appeal to the Federal Circuit.

Copyright © 2019 Robert Moll. All rights reserved.  

PTAB - Program for Ex Parte Appeals

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) is hosting a free program on ex parte appeal from 9 - 10 am Pacific Time, Tuesday, April 6. Judges Bradley Garris, Linda Horner, and John Jeffery will discuss the ex parte appeal process, statistics, and tips for winning appeals.

For more information about the Boardside Chats and to access all slide materials:

Webinar Access Information:

Event address: uspto-events.webex.com/uspto-events/onstage/g.php?MTID=ee4b8faff5a188332aaa6a752f4b6c292

Event number: 994 593 512

Event password: 123456

Audio conference: Call-in toll number is 1-650-479-3208, access code is 994 593 512

Copyright © 2015 Robert Moll. All rights reserved.

PTAB - Effective Use of Claim Grouping in Appeals

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) published an article Effective Use of Claim Grouping in Appeals that presents how to effectively present arguments to the Board.

The article states "when transitioning from examination to appeal, an appellant moves from negotiating patentable claims to resolving disputed patentability issues. The appeal brief normally is the Board’s first exposure to an appellant’s case, and it is the appellant’s first opportunity to persuade the panel to rule in its favor. Therefore, an appellant should take care to craft a clear and persuasive brief that quickly educates the Board panel about the issues and technology, and focuses on appellant’s strongest arguments, while avoiding the introduction of any new issues."

Although the article has some good advice -- focus most if not all of your appeal brief on winning issues, I think its advice to group claims is risky because many PTAB decisions use claim groupings as a mechanism to support affirmance of rejection of the entire group.

Copyright © 2015 Robert Moll. All rights reserved.