Federal Circuit Considers Blurry Edges of IPR Appealability

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has indicated that it will not review initial decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to institute inter partes review. It has also signaled that it will review final written decisions by the board. But what about cases that get decided somewhere in between? "We're in the hinterland of postinstitution, prefinal written decision," said Intellectual Property partner William P. Atkins. That period can last for up to a year, so it's important that the Federal Circuit exercise some level of review, Atkins argues. “Invalid patents should be invalidated.” Click here to read the full article.