PTAB Strategies and Insights - June 2019: Supreme Court Eliminates Government as a Party Who Can File AIA Action at PTAB

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.
Contact

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

In Return Mail, Inc. v. U.S. Postal Serv., 17-1594, Justice SOTOMAYOR wrote for the majority to overturn a Federal Circuit decision that the U.S. Postal Service had standing to petition for covered business method review. The Supreme Court stated that the AIA lacks a definition for “a person” and thus interpreted this term in the statute to mean a person or a company, but not the government. In doing so, the Court distinguished the ability of the government to pursue patents and ex parte reexamination from being able to be third-party challenger in an adversarial proceeding. Justice BREYER filed a dissenting opinion joined by Justices GINSBURG and KAGAN.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations. Attorney Advertising.

© Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

Written by:

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.
Contact
more
less

PUBLISH YOUR CONTENT ON JD SUPRA NOW

  • Increased visibility
  • Actionable analytics
  • Ongoing guidance

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C. on:

Reporters on Deadline

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
Custom Email Digest
- hide
- hide