PTAB Grants First Review Extension

In a first-of-its-kind ruling, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board extended the deadline to reach a final decision on an inter partes review of a medical device patent owned by Hologic.

Chief Judge David Ruschke’s order to extend the deadline by up to six months came in light of the recent ruling in Aqua Products v. Matal.

The Aqua Products decision stated that the burden of convincing the PTO that any claim is unpatentable must fall on the challenging firm rather than the patent owner. This set a precedent that affects the burden of proof that the patent board applies and could affect the parties’ argument, according to Ruschke.