The USPTO, led by Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart, recently granted Procomm International's request to deny three petitions for inter partes review (IPR) from Ericsson and Verizon Wireless. The decision was influenced by prior dismissals of one patent in ongoing litigation. Stewart noted that pursuing IPR would not be efficient given the dismissal and timing, as the potential final decision would not be reached before the district court's trial date. The unique circumstances surrounding each patent were considered in assessing the petitions' viability.
It is an inefficient use of Board resources to review a challenged patent that has been dismissed with prejudice from the litigation.
In this case, discretionary denial was favored because the challenged patent was dismissed with prejudice from the litigation on March 2, 2025.
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