The Federal Circuit adopts a skilled-searcher standard for Section 315(e)(2) estoppel and places the burden of proving it on the patent owner, not the petitioner.
The Supreme Court held that administrative patent judges wielded unconstitutional power and fixed the defect by giving the USPTO Director authority to review their decisions.
The Supreme Court held that when the Patent Office institutes an inter partes review, it must decide the patentability of every claim the petitioner challenged — all or nothing.
The Supreme Court held that inter partes review does not violate Article III or the Seventh Amendment because a patent is a public right the agency may reconsider.
