Patent Law

US Government Asks for Increased Deference When Patent Applicants Challenge BPAI Decisions in Court

By Dennis Crouch

Kappos v. Hyatt (On petition for writ of certiorari, 2011) ?(Download Hyatt.GovtBrief)

Although the US? Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have been at odds on the issue of the patent eligibility of genetic material isolated from a living organism, the two agencies are speaking with one voice against the Federal Circuit's recent decision in Hyatt v. Kappos. In that en banc opinion, the court broadened a patent applicant's rights associated with the "remedy by civil action" provided by Section 145 of the Patent Act. Under § 145, an applicant can file a civil action in DC District Court whenever "[a]n applicant dissatisfied with the decision of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences."

In a 6-2-1 decision, the Federal Circuit reversed its prior precedent and held that a patent applicant is allowed to introduce new evidence in a Section 145 civil action filed to challenge a USPTO refusal to grant patent rights and that the issues implicated by the new facts must be considered de novo.

Judge Moore wrote in the majority opinion that:

[W]e hold that the only limitations on the admissibility of evidence applicable to a § 145 proceeding are the limitations imposed by the Federal Rules of Evidence and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Therefore, we hold that the district court applied the wrong legal standard for the admissibility of evidence in a § 145 proceeding and abused its discretion when it excluded Mr. Hyatt's declaration. . . .

The particular significance of a § 145 civil action is that it affords an applicant the opportunity to introduce new evidence after the close of the administrative proceedings?and once an applicant introduces new evidence on an issue, the district court reviews that issue de novo.

However, the Court also held that an applicant may still be barred from presenting new "issues" in the civil action and that, when no new evidence is presented, that BPAI findings and rulings should be given deference under the Administrative Procedures Act.

Petition for Writ of Certiorari: In its petition to the Supreme Court, the US Government argues that the Federal Circuit decision is faulty because it "disregards fundamental principles of administrative law" and diverges from the traditional understanding of the statute.

Getting from the PTO to the Court: After losing at the Board, an applicant has two primary avenues for challenging the Board's decision: (1) Appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit under 35 U.S.C. § 141; or (2) File a civil action in district court under 35 U.S.C. § 145. In Dickinson v. Zurko, the Supreme Court held that Federal Circuit direct review of BPAI decisions under Section 141 must follow the deferential standards that govern judicial review of final agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). 527 U.S. 150 (1999).  In that decision, the Supreme Court distinguished between Section 145 and Section 141 actions ? noting that Section 145 actions "permit the disappointed applicant to present to the court evidence that the applicant did not present to the PTO." However, the court did not address the particular circumstances in which new evidence may be permitted nor did it address how the new evidence should be treated.

Here, the government asks the Supreme Court to fill the gap in Zurko by holding that:

1. The plaintiff in a Section 145 action may not introduce new evidence that could have been presented to the PTO in the first place; and
2. When new evidence is introduced, the district court should still give deference to the prior decisions of the PTO.

Background: Gilbert Hyatt is a well-known inventor and successful patentee. Hyatt filed a civil action in 2003 after the BPAI sustained written description and enablement rejections for seventy-nine of Hyatt's claims. The examiner had issued "2546 separate rejections of Mr. Hyatt's 117 claims" based on the doctrines of inadequate "written description, lack of enablement, double patenting, anticipation, and obviousness." The Board reversed all of the examiner rejections except for the § 112 p1 arguments. Complicating this case is the fact that the application's claimed priority date is 1975. Hyatt has aggressively pushed the bounds of USPTO practice. This decision is one of more than a dozen Federal Circuit decisions focusing on Hyatt's patent rights. If the Supreme Court takes the case, it will be the second for Hyatt who won a 2002 case against California income tax collectors. In that case, California was pursuing Hyatt for tax revenue for his patent licenses. Hyatt took the case to the Supreme Court and eventually won a $388 million judgment against the state of California for invasion of privacy.

Full post as published by Patently Obvious on April 11, 2011 (boomark / email).