Justices Told USPTO's 'Settled Expectations' Rule Flouts

Law360, Ryan Davis, May 29, 2026

A host of industry groups, professors, attorneys and more urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to take up Google's appeal arguing that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has exceeded its authority by using the age of patents as a reason to refuse to review them.

Squires' Institution Flips Are Increasing Uncertainty At PTAB

Law360, Dani Kass, May 26, 2026

There have been 24 inter partes reviews that Squires initially found met discretionary denial standards — and were therefore worthy of merits review — that he later concluded should have been discretionarily denied. He has also stepped into cases previously instituted by administrative patent judges and walked back those approvals. Attorneys say it's becoming increasingly clear that even an initial approval from the director may not last.

Squires Hits Pause On Unpopular Examiner Sign-Off Policy

Law360, Theresa Schliep, May 13, 2026

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director has paused a "streamlined review" policy requiring that supervisory patent examiners sign off on some first actions by examiners who have signatory authority, a policy that's been unpopular with examination staff since its rollout in the fall.

Building Codes Ruling May Inform AI Copyright Arguments

Law360, Mitesh Patel, May 5, 2026

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit's opinion in American Society for Testing and Materials International v. UpCodes Inc. last month affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction and found that UpCodes' verbatim republication of copyrighted building codes, standards which were incorporated into binding law, likely constitutes fair use.

DOJ's Stance On Antitrust And Patent Law Reflects Balance

Law360, Nicholas Cheolas & Corey Weinstein, May 4, 2026

Over the past year, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division has delivered consistent messaging about the relationship between antitrust law and intellectual property rights: Strong patent rights and competition policy are complementary, not in conflict.

Federal Circuit In March: IPR And The Limits Of Retroactivity

Law360, Sean Murray & Jeremiah Helm, April 30, 2026

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit addressed the limits of retroactivity in its recent decision, Implicit LLC v. Sonos Inc. There the court considered Implicit's attempt to erase a loss in inter partes review proceedings by retroactively correcting the two invalidated patents. The Federal Circuit ruled that, even though the retroactive correction theoretically should have changed the outcome of the IPRs, thereby saving Implicit's patents from invalidation, Implicit had forfeited the right to rely on the correction.

Google Takes USPTO 'Settled Expectations' Fight To High Court

Law360, Ryan Davis, April 27, 2026

Google asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's policy of using the age of patents as a reason to refuse to review them, saying the "unprecedented and unsupported action" exceeds the office's authority. Google told the Supreme Court that the USPTO had no statutory authority to enact a policy that it generally will not institute America Invents Act review of patents that are more than six years old, which the company said amounts to "conjuring from whole cloth a limitations period that Congress deliberately withheld."

New Patent Owner Filings Expected To Drive Down Reexams

Law360, Ryan Davis, April 8, 2026

A new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office procedure allowing patent owners to respond to ex parte reexamination requests has the potential to shake up the process and lead to fewer reexams being instituted since the office can now hear from both sides, attorneys say.

Plaid Beats Fintech Patent Suit With Alice Finding

Law360, Elliot Weld, April 3, 2026

A Utah federal judge has dismissed a patent infringement suit against financial services firm Plaid Inc.. The ruling was invalid under the U.S. Supreme Court's Alice test, which assesses whether a patent covers an abstract concept that renders it ineligible.

Apple Verdict May Inform Jury Instruction In Patent Suits

Law360, Joshua Reisberg, April 2, 2026

On Feb. 12, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas cleared Apple Inc. of patent infringement in an action brought by Optis Wireless Technology LLC. One consequential feature of the Federal Circuit's opinion has received little attention: how juries must be instructed on patent eligibility under Title 35 of the U.S. Code, Section 101. Although the jury ultimately did not need to resolve eligibility, how the district court modified its Step 2 instruction — prompted by the Federal Circuit — warrants scrutiny.