In the unfolding legal saga, In Re: Cellect, LLC No. 2022-1293 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 28, 2023), a crucial case illuminates an area of Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) and its interaction with the interesting issue of obviousness-type double patenting (ODP). This case has become critical for corporations and legal professionals specializing in Intellectual Property (IP).
According to the case’s background detailed on JD Supra, Cellect sued Samsung Electronics, Co. for the alleged infringement of four of its patents. In a subsequent legal maneuver, Samsung requested four ex parte reexaminations asserting that the said patents were unpatentable due to ODP, which interestingly was not raised by the examiner during prosecution.
By shifting the focus to ODP, the examination brought out a unique aspect, that the challenged claims were actually variants of Cellect’s original patents. This marked a revealing turning point in ex parte reexamination proceedings. However, the case also raised questions on how reexaminations considering ODP can potentially impact the patent term adjustments.
Represented by the law firm Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, this specific case now sits at the intersection of the ODP and PTA legal understanding, and could potentially serve as a benchmark in similar future litigations.