SCOTUS Denial of Lynk Labs Petition Preserves Unpublished Patent Applications as Prior Art in Pre-AIA IPRs

"Lynk Labs said the Federal Circuit engaged in a nonsensical Catch-22 by considering the asserted prior art as a printed publication admissible as prior art in IPR proceedings under 35 U.S.C. § 311(b) while analyzing the effective date of that prior art under the temporal requirements for patent applications as prior art governed by pre-AIA Section 102, which stems from the date of filing and not the date of publication."

"Samsung argued that Lynk Labs' interpretation could lead to the farfetched result of priority dates changing if a patent application asserted as prior art issues as a patent during the IPR proceeding."

The Supreme Court declined to review the Federal Circuit's decision that invalidated Lynk Labs' patent claims in an inter partes review proceeding. The case centered on whether patent applications can serve as prior art under pre-AIA patent law. Lynk Labs argued the Federal Circuit created a logical contradiction by treating applications as published materials while applying pre-AIA novelty standards based on filing dates rather than publication dates. Samsung opposed the petition, contending the Federal Circuit's interpretation reflected the statute's plain language and that Lynk Labs' alternative approach would produce absurd results, including changing priority dates during IPR proceedings.

Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law