#ptab

#ptab

One of my little joys this past summer was a brown sugar cold foam cold brew from Starbucks, most often purchased after a strenuous sculling session. Simpler in both construction and calories than a frappuccino, but with the same instantaneous burst of sugary delight on the initial sip, each drink was a hit of warm-weather pleasure to savor. For the first few sips (gulps) the brown sugar cold foam overwhelmed,

This week, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart posted another round of Director Discretionary Denial decisions to the PTAB Decisions page, almost all of which denied institution to America Invents Acts (AIA) patent validity trials. Stewart's recent rulings generally confirm the trend so far that a patent owner's settled expectations with respect to patents that have been in force for six years or more hold significant weight, although in two cases this trend was bucked.

Any suggestion that USPTO patent examination quality is a controlling factor in the high rate of patent invalidation in the district courts and at the PTAB is a fallacy that should be rejected and excised with prejudice from all discourse on USPTO examination quality. About half of the patents adjudicated in district courts and at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) are found invalid.