Accused patent infringers may be time-barred by service of a complaint in a lawsuit that was later voluntarily dismissed without prejudice.

Key Points:

..Under the PTAB’s old precedent, voluntary dismissals without prejudice of a lawsuit did not trigger the one-year countdown. The full Federal Circuit reversed: Now, voluntary dismissal without prejudice has no effect on the one-year clock, which continues to run from the date the complaint in the voluntarily dismissed action was served.

..The Federal Circuit also extended the one-year bar to co-petitioners who joined the petition with the time-barred party.

..The Federal Circuit’s decision may also impact 35 U.S.C. § 315(a), by potentially barring a petitioner who has filed a declaratory judgment action seeking to invalidate patent claims even if that action was later dismissed without prejudice.