Petitioners Should Address Objective Indicia of Nonobviousness in Petitions Filed with the PTO

Recently, the PTAB denied Gilead Sciences, Inc.’s (Gilead) request to institute an inter partes review of two patents relating to HIV-prevention, U.S. Patent No. 9,044,509 (the ’509 patent) and U.S. Patent No. 9,579,333 (the ’333 patent). One key reason for the denial was because Gilead failed to adequately address unexpected results in its Petition. The…

Intention to File an ANDA may be Sufficient to Establish Standing for a PGR Appeal

Around the same time the Federal Circuit decided that a prospective ANDA customer lacked declaratory judgment standing in AIDS Healthcare, reported on here, it held that a prospective ANDA filer has standing to appeal a PTAB decision.  In Altaire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Paragon Bioteck, Inc., No. 2017-1487 (Fed. Cir. May 2, 2018), a sharply-divided panel found…

Proposed Amendment to Hatch-Waxman Act May Prohibit Use of Post-Grant Procedures

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, co-author of the Hatch-Waxman Act, recently proposed an amendment to the Act that would prevent generic drug companies from using any AIA post-grant procedure (IPR or PGR) on an Orange Book patent identified in their PIV certifications.  The proposed amendment would require that the patent certification required under 21 USC §…

USPTO Begins Effort to Abandon Broadest Reasonable Construction Standard in Contested PTO Proceedings

Less than two months after Andrei Iancu was confirmed as the new Director of the USPTO, the Office issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning the claim construction standards employed in contested USPTO proceedings, including IRPs, PGRs, and CBMs.  The proposed change would abandon the broadest reasonable construction standard currently used for unexpired patents in…