REVERSED
AFFIRMED-IN-PART
1721 Zhang, Jiwen et al. 12298998 - (D) DELMENDO 103 HAMRE, SCHUMANN, MUELLER & LARSON, P.C DAM, DUSTIN Q
2413 Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ) 14895293 - (D) BUSCH 102/103 41.50 103 COATS & BENNETT, PLLC OHRI, ROMANI
2488 Amer, Ihab et al. 15085562 - (D) CRAIG 103 Timothy M. Honeycutt DANG, PHILIP
2864 Austerlitz, Howard P. et al. 14510288 - (D) WILSON 101 DON W. BULSON (PARK) RENNER, OTTO, BOISSELLE & SKLAR, LLP LE, TOAN M
3662 Robert Bosch GmbH 14369293 - (D) CAPP 103 NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT US LLP SMITH, ISAAC G
3734 FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC 15270633 - (D) PESLAK 103 41.50 103 Ford Global Technologies, LLC/ King & Schickli, PLLC BATTISTI, DEREK J
AFFIRMED-IN-PART
1782 SWINC LLC 13651796 - (D) McMANUS 103 103 Patterson Thuente Pedersen, P.A. PATTERSON, MARC A
3628 Brandt, Gary Edward. et al. 13415140 - (D) MOHANTY 103 101 CHERNOFF, VILHAUER, MCCLUNG & STENZEL, LLP ERB, NATHAN
3643 Jingo Tateiwa 14620703 - (D) SONG 103 112(1) PEARNE & GORDON LLP WANG, MICHAEL H
AFFIRMED
1615 WisTa Laboratories Ltd. 14929111 - (D) HARDMAN OTDP OTDP 41.50 OTDP WOLF GREENFIELD & SACKS, P.C. GEMBEH, SHIRLEY V
1617 Alfred E. Tiefenbacher GmbH & Co. KG et al. 15363317 - (D) NEW 103 LERNER, DAVID, LITTENBERG, KRUMHOLZ & MENTLIK PALLAY, MICHAEL B
1629 Kowa Company, Ltd. 14162181 - (D) TOWNSEND 103/OTDP WESTERMAN, HATTORI, DANIELS & ADRIAN, LLP STRONG, TORI
1631 SIERACKI, JEFFREY M. 13618803 - (D) GRIMES 101 112(1)/112(2)/101 ROSENBERG, KLEIN & LEE SKIBINSKY, ANNA
2114 International Business Machines Corporation 15080424 - (D) DIXON 101/103 IBM CORP. (WSM) c/o WINSTEAD P.C. PATEL, JIGAR P
2114 International Business Machines Corporation 15080470 - (D) DIXON 101/103 IBM CORP. (WSM) c/o WINSTEAD P.C. PATEL, JIGAR P
2647 Sanjeev K. Singh et al. 15085685 - (D) AMUNDSON 103 Nokia Technologies Oy C/O Davidson Sheehan LLP GAO, JING
2832 SENVION SE. 14652874 - (D) HASTINGS 103 ALIX, YALE & RISTAS, LLP NGUYEN, VIET P
3619 The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University 14336434 - (D) LAVIER 101 Mintz Levin/San Diego Office WHALEY, PABLO S
3621 Selinger, David et al. 12012280 - (D) BUSCH Dissenting SHIANG 103 112(1)/101/103 James A. D. White VLP Law Group POUNCIL, DARNELL A
3628 Elliott, Richard F. et al. 13919435 - (D) MEDLOCK 103 101 Thrive IP Jeremy Stipkala CHEN, GEORGE YUNG CHIEH
3629 LinkedIn Corporation 14698772 - (D) COURTENAY 101/103 Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner / LinkedIn/Microsoft WHITAKER, ANDREW B
3682 Visa International Service Association 14290134 - (D) OSINSKI 103 LOEB & LOEB, LLP STOLTENBERG, DAVID J
3685 Disney Enterprises, Inc. 14322024 - (D) COURTENAY 103 101 DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC. C/O FARJAMI & FARJAMI LLP NIGH, JAMES D
3689 International Business Machines Corporation 14799082 - (D) HUME 112(1)/112(2) 102/103 TERRILE, CANNATTI & CHAMBERS, LLP - IBM SV CHEN, WENREN
3692 Global Payments Inc. 14528592 - (D) SHAH 101 FOLEY & LARDNER LLP POE, KEVIN T
3752 Carl Kah 14515016 - (D) GUIJT 102/103 AMSTER, ROTHSTEIN & EBENSTEIN LLP CERNOCH, STEVEN MICHAEL
3763 Jose Lourenco et al. 12303956 - (D) FITZPATRICK 112(1) CHRISTENSEN O'CONNOR JOHNSON KINDNESS PLLC ZEC, FILIP
3792 Kenneth P. Grace 13804923 - (D) WOOD 103/OTDP PHILIPS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & STANDARDS WU, TONG E
REISSUE
REVERSED
3992 Conversant Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. 13762594 - (D) 7,886,007 ENGLE 251 Conversant Wireless Licensing Ltd. CRAVER, CHARLES R
Whether a Broadened Claim Provides Sufficient Notice of Broadening
The next question we must address is whether a broadened claim in a reissue application, without more, is sufficient to unequivocally indicate intent to broaden. The MPEP notes that a “statement that ‘the patent is wholly or partly inoperative by reason of claiming more or less than applicant had a right to claim’ is NOT an unequivocal statement of an intent to broaden.” MPEP § 1412.03(IV). This may be because the phrase “more or less” lacks clarity as to whether the claims are broader or narrower. In contrast, the Federal Circuit has held that clear changes to the claim in addition to an inventor’s declaration that the applicant claimed “less than we had a right to” were sufficient notice of broadening. MBO Labs., Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co., 474 F.3d 1323, 1332 (Fed. Cir. 2007).
The Federal Circuit, precedential PTAB panels, and the MPEP do not appear to have addressed whether submitting a broadened claim alone is itself an indication of intent to broaden. However, in line with MBO Laboratories, we hold that it is. When (1) a reissue claim is submitted within two years of the patent’s issuance, (2) the reissue claim is broader than the issued patent, and (3) the subsequent prosecution history confirms the applicant’s intent to broaden, even if such prosecution history occurs more than two years after the patent’s issuance, an applicant has provided sufficient and timely notice of intent to broaden.
MBO Laboratories, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co., 602 F.3d 1306, 94 USPQ2d 1598 (Fed. Cir. 2010) 1412.02
REHEARING
DENIED
1619 Stephanie Von Der Fecht et al. 14376981 - (R) NEW 103 Abel Schillinger, LLP
BABSON, NICOLE PLOURDE
BABSON, NICOLE PLOURDE
