Source: https://patents.hdp.com/?m=201910
Timestamp: 2019-12-12 05:45:44
Document Index: 715510847

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2', '§ 706', '§ 255', '§ 255', '§ 1', '§ 1485']

October | 2019 | HDP Patents Blog
Posted on October 31, 2019 by bwheelock
The Board held that claims 1, 4, 8, 10–12, 16, 18, and 25–28 of Arthrex’s U.S. Patent No. 9,179,907 were unpatentable as anticipated. Arthrex appealed, contending that the appointment of the Board’s Administrative Patent Judges (“APJs”) by the Secretary of Commerce, as currently set forth in Title 35, violates the Appointments Clause of the constitution (Art. II, § 2, cl. 2). The Federal Circuit agreed concluding that the statute as currently constructed improperly makes the APJs principal officers.
More specifically, Arthrex argued that the APJs who presided over its inter partes review were not constitutionally appointed; they were principal officers who must be, but were not, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The issue was whether the APJs were in fact “Officers of the United States” and if so, whether they are inferior officers or principal officers. The Federal Circuit held that in light of the rights and responsibilities in Title 35, APJs were principal officers.
In Honeywell International Inc. v. Arkema Inc., [2018-1151, 2018-1153](October 1, 2019), the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded the Board’s denial of authorization to file a motion for leave to Petition for a Certificate of Correction to correct a mistake in the chain of priority.
Under the Administrative Procedure Act, the courts hold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions that it finds are arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law. 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). An abuse of discretion occurs when a decision: (1) is clearly unreasonable, arbitrary, or fanciful; (2) is based on an erroneous conclusion of law; (3) rests on clearly erroneous fact findings; or (4) involves a record that contains no evidence on which the Board could rationally base its decision.
The Federal Circuit found that the Board abused its discretion by assuming the authority that 35 U.S.C. § 255 expressly delegates to the Director: to determine when a Certificate of Correction is appropriate. Section 255 does not grant the Board authority to determine whether a mistake in an issued patent is of “minor character” or “occurred in good faith.” 35 U.S.C. § 255. That authority is expressly granted to the Director. The Director has not delegated its Section 255 authority to the Board, but has instead promulgated procedures by which patentees may seek the Board’s leave to petition the Director for a Certificate of Correction.
The Federal Circuit vacated the Final Written Decisions, and remanded, directing the Board to authorize Honeywell to file a motion seeking leave to petition the Director for a Certificate of Correction, and review Honeywell’s motion for leave in accordance with 37 C.F.R. § 1.323 and MPEP § 1485, including to evaluate whether prejudice to Arkema requires accommodation.
Posted in PGR