Foley Attorneys Quoted on Cuozzo SCOTUS Decision

Foley’s patent attorneys shared their insights pertaining to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Cuozzo v. Lee case. Cuozzo revolves around the claim construction standard created by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to analyze the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) standard when assessing patent claims during an inter partes review (IPR). The Supreme Court affirmed a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and upheld the claim construction.

Partner Steven Maebius was quoted in a Fortune article, “Tech Industry Wins Big in Supreme Court Patent Ruling,” on June 20, 2016. “Petitioners will breathe a sigh of relief and patent owners hoping for a pro-patent turn of events will be disappointed in today’s outcome. … The Court has maintained the status quo.”

Partner Jeanne Gills provided commentary in a Law360 article, “Justices’ Backing of PTAB to Span New AIA Review Fights,” on June 20, 2016. She said the new rules should give patent owners concerned about the America Invents Act (AIA) review process more comfort, “The bottom line is that some of the unfairness concerns may be lessened by the rule changes.” She continued and said, “The takeaway is that both sides need to pay a lot more attention to not just the words on the page but the true reason behind the decision to institute and whether it might be an appealable issue.”