Fighting the Troll Toll: The Case for Judicial Review of the U.S.P.T.O. Director's Denial of a Petition to Institute an Inter Partes Review

Authors

Renoj Zachariah, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Abstract

The note challenges the Federal Circuit's ruling in St. Jude Medical, LLC v. Volcano Corp., which held that the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) decision to deny an Inter Partes Review (IPR) is final and non-appealable under 35 U.S.C. § 314(d). Arguing that this ruling misinterprets the statute and undermines the goals of the America Invents Act (AIA), the article advocates for judicial review of such decisions to ensure fairness, prevent abuse of discretion, and align IPR proceedings with administrative law principles. It also highlights the inconsistency in allowing judicial review for Covered Business Method (CBM) reviews but not for IPRs, emphasizing the need for a more coherent approach to patent review processes.

Disciplines

Antitrust and Trade Regulation | First Amendment | Intellectual Property Law | Law | Science and Technology Law

Recommended Citation

Renoj Zachariah, Fighting the Troll Toll: The Case for Judicial Review of the U.S.P.T.O. Director's Denial of a Petition to Institute an Inter Partes Review, 38 Cardozo L. Rev. 2273 (2017).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/clr/vol38/iss6/9