Failure to Provide Patent Examiner with Copy of PTAB Decision Not Grounds for Inequitable Conduct

Aug 18, 2017

Reading Time : 1 min

Tinnus Enterprises, LLC and Zuru Ltd. filed a patent infringement suit against Telebrands Corp. and Bulbhead.com, LLC. The patents at issue are U.S. Patent Nos. 9,242,749 (the “’749 patent”) and 9,315,282 (the “’282 patent”), which generally involve a system and method for simultaneously filling multiple water balloons. Defendants alleged that the ’749 and ’282 patents were unenforceable for inequitable conduct because, during prosecution, Tinnus failed to provide the examiner with a copy of a PTAB decision to institute post-grant review of U.S. Patent No. 9,051,066. Defendants also alleged that the patents-in-suit improperly claimed priority to the ’066 patent with the intent to deceive the USPTO. Plaintiffs then filed a motion for summary judgment of no inequitable conduct and no unclean hands.

In his report and recommendation, Magistrate Judge John D. Love stated that defendants’ motion is based on the assumption that there is some requirement for a patent applicant to disclose relevant PTAB decisions to the patent examiner, but defendants do not cite any authority for this position. Judge Love also noted that Tinnus’ prosecution counsel did disclose the ’066 patent PGR institution decision to the patent examiner during an interview. Furthermore, Judge Love stated that defendants’ position assumes that the patent examiner is incapable of finding relevant PTAB decisions.

Judge Love went on to write that defendants provided no explanation to support the allegation that Tinnus intended to deceive the USPTO. Judge Love stated that the more likely inference is that Tinnus’ prosecution counsel believed that he had satisfied any duty of candor by disclosing the ’066 patent PGR institution decision during the interview with the examiner. Defendants also did not cite to any statement or testimony from Tinnus, the inventor, or Tinnus’ patent counsel that related to mental state or any intentional actions. Because defendants could not show a specific intent to deceive, Judge Love recommended that plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment be granted.

Tinnus Enterprises LLC v. Telebrands Corp., No. 6:16-cv-00033 (E.D. Tex. August 15, 2017, Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge) (Love, J.D.)

Share This Insight

Previous Entries

IP Newsflash

August 6, 2025

In ruling on a recent motion to strike, a judge in the Eastern District of Texas permitted a damages expert to rely on a damages theory based on defendant’s “avoided costs,” holding that this theory did not run afoul of the “entire market value rule.”

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

August 5, 2025

The Federal Circuit recently vacated a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board after concluding that the board’s analysis of licensing evidence offered as a secondary consideration of nonobviousness constituted legal error and was not supported by substantial evidence. According to the court, the board applied a more exacting and improperly heightened nexus standard than is required by law for license evidence.

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

August 5, 2025

A Northern District of California judge recently granted a motion to reconsider his summary judgment ruling that defendant was barred from raising certain “device art” due to IPR estoppel under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2). In the original ruling, the judge adopted the broader rule that IPR estoppel applies to device art that is “materially identical” to patents or printed publications that petitioners raised, or could have raised, in an IPR. Following that ruling, however, the Federal Circuit issued its Ingenico decision adopting the narrower view that IPR estoppel applies only to “grounds” based on patents and printed publications and not to device-based grounds. Citing Ingenico as a “change of law,” defendant moved for reconsideration of the court’s ruling, and the court granted the motion.

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

August 5, 2025

In a recent decision designated as Informative, the USPTO Director determined that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board abused its discretion by instituting two inter partes review proceedings challenging the same patent, based on petitions advancing different constructions of the same claim term. The Director expressed concerns that permitting multiple petitions based on alternative claim constructions effectively circumvents word count limitations, strains board resources, and undermines procedural efficiency.

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

July 25, 2025

Earlier this year, the Federal Circuit’s decision in Qualcomm Inc. v. Apple Inc. (Qualcomm II) raised questions about the extent to which petitioners can rely on applicant admitted prior art (“AAPA”) in inter partes review proceedings.  The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Shockwave Medical, Inc. v. Cardiovascular Sys., Inc. largely cabins the Qualcomm II decision to its particular facts and makes clear that AAPA can be used as evidence of background knowledge as part of an obviousness argument.

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

July 11, 2025

The Federal Circuit recently reversed a PTAB determination on remand that a patent was obvious over applicant admitted prior art (“AAPA”) in combination with prior art patents, holding that expressly designating AAPA as a “basis” for a ground is improper under 35 U.S.C. § 311(b). In doing so, the Court rejected the PTAB’s “blanket rule” that “AAPA used in combination with prior art patents or printed publications under § 311(b) is ipso facto not the basis or part of the basis of a ground.” Ultimately, while the case clarifies that expressly listing AAPA in an IPR ground is improper, the precise line between proper and improper uses of AAPA in other instances remains unclear.

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

July 1, 2025

In an appeal from an inter partes review, the Federal Circuit recently clarified that the enablement inquiry applied to prior art references in the context of an anticipation defense differs from the enablement inquiry applied when evaluating the claims of a patent.

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

June 26, 2025

The Northern District of Ohio denied a motion to compel the plaintiff to produce test results referenced in its initial disclosures and complaint. The court found that because the “test results are not facts but rather are opinions,” the information was protected as work product. Furthermore, because that testing would not be used as evidence in the litigation, the defendant was not prejudiced.

...

Read More

© 2025 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. All rights reserved. Attorney advertising. This document is distributed for informational use only; it does not constitute legal advice and should not be used as such. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Akin is the practicing name of Akin Gump LLP, a New York limited liability partnership authorized and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number 267321. A list of the partners is available for inspection at Eighth Floor, Ten Bishops Square, London E1 6EG. For more information about Akin Gump LLP, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and other associated entities under which the Akin Gump network operates worldwide, please see our Legal Notices page.