PTAB Retains Jurisdiction Of Expired Patents, PTAB Litigation Blog
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The Federal Circuit rejected a recent argument that the PTAB does not have inter partes review (IPR) jurisdiction over expired patents. Because even expired patents involve the grant of public rights, the court explained that the PTAB’s authority is not tied to the patent’s status.
The case arose after Gesture was granted a patent for its image capture technology, which triggers a digital camera to capture an image when a particular motion – a gesture – is detected in the visual field. Apple challenged that grant, petitioning the PTAB for IPR on the grounds that the invention was obvious. The PTAB agreed in part, determining that some of Gesture’s claims were indeed unpatentable.
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