Federal Circuit Faults Patent Trial Board in Lighting Patent Case

On Tuesday, the Federal Circuit once again identified issues with a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision concerning a decorative lighting patent. The court criticized the PTAB for twice rejecting challenges to the patent, especially focusing on the board’s determination that there was no motivation to combine prior art to minimize copper costs in the lighting system. A more detailed analysis of the court’s observations can be found here.