Navigating Uncertainty—Addressing Purely Functional Claim Limitations in a Post-Williamson World with Ongoing PTAB Climate Change
Patent litigants on both sides of the docket struggle with claim limitations that do not expressly recite “means for” language yet define the scope of the invention in terms of functionality rather than structure. In the wake of Williamson v. Citrix Online, LLC, tribunals have increasingly found that claim limitations reciting so-called nonce words overcome the legal presumption against § 112, ¶ 6 (or means-plus-function) treatment. This Article briefly discusses the Williamson decision, its legal and practical effect, and strategic considerations for petitioners and patent owners at the PTAB.
Fish Secures IPR Win for Heil Environmental on Sanitation System Patent
Fish attorneys David Hoffman and Kenneth Darby recently secured a win for client The Heil Co. (d/b/a Heil Environmental) at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) when the Board found that a patent covering a system for tracking garbage cans that Heil challenged was invalid.
Michael Hawkins Quoted in Law360 Article “PTAB Rulings Show Potential New Way To Defeat AIA Reviews”
Fish Principal Michael Hawkins has been quoted in a recent Law360 article discussing the implications of two PTAB decisions declining to institute IPR of patents because the petitioner was likely to succeed in invalidating only two of 20 or more challenged claims.
IPR and Hatch-Waxman Strategy: A Look at the Data
Since the PTAB’s inception in 2012, 450 petitions have been filed relating to Orange Book-listed patents, 93% of which where also challenged in district court.
Fish Marks 1,000 Appearances at the PTAB
Fish & Richardson is the first firm to achieve this important milestone at the popular forum.
