Judge Profile

Avelyn M. Ross

61 IP cases indexed. Covers patent matters.

Cases Presided Over

61 cases indexed | Page 2 of 3

patent final

Hanwha Solutions Corporation v.Maxeon Solar Pte. Ltd. et al.

· IPR2024-01198

The PTAB issued a final written decision denying Petitioner's challenge to claims 10-20 of Maxeon Solar Pte. Ltd.'s patent. The Board construed the key term 'metal impurities' as 'unintentional foreign metals,' rejecting arguments that intentional dopants qualified. Ultimately, the Petitioner failed to demonstrate unpatentability by a preponderance of the evidence.

patent Final Written Decision

Hanwha Solutions Corporation v.Maxeon Solar Pte. Ltd.

· IPR2024-01199

The PTAB issued a Final Written Decision finding all 20 challenged claims unpatentable based on obviousness (103). The Petitioner successfully demonstrated that various combinations of prior art—including Froitzheim, Gan, Smith, and Li—would render the Maxeon patent obvious to a person skilled in the art.

patent Final Written Decision

Deltran USA LLC et al. v.The Noco Company

· IPR2024-01219

The PTAB issued a Final Written Decision finding all 11 challenged claims unpatentable over various prior art combinations. The Petitioner successfully demonstrated obviousness by combining Richardson's jump starter apparatus with Zhao's USB step-up charging technology, and through other combinations involving Epower/Krieger references.

patent Final Written Decision

R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company et al. v.Healthier Choices Management Corp.

· IPR2024-01458

The PTAB issued a Final Written Decision finding all four challenged claims of U.S. Patent No. 9538788 unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 103. The Petitioner successfully demonstrated obviousness by combining various prior art references to show that the claimed vaporizing device was predictable in light of existing technology.

patent final

Runergy Alabama Inc et al. v.Trina Solar Co. Ltd.

· IPR2025-00006

The Petitioner successfully demonstrated that all 17 challenged claims are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a). The Board found specific combinations of prior art, notably Chang and Jin, rendered the claimed solar cell structures obvious.

patent instituted

JIANGSU FAVORED NANOTECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. v.P2i Ltd.

· IPR2024-00380

JIANGSU FAVORED NANOTECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. successfully petitioned to overturn a discretionary denial of IPR for P2i Ltd.'s patent (11041087). The Board found that the prior art was sufficiently evaluated during prosecution, leading to the institution of the case on § 103 grounds.

patent denied

Tesla, Inc. v.Relink US LLC

· IPR2024-00389

Tesla's IPR challenge against Relink US LLC was denied by the PTAB, failing to demonstrate a reasonable likelihood of prevailing. The Board found that key prior art references (Serban and Somani) did not sufficiently teach or suggest the claimed features related to frequency-based power adjustment in grid-tied photovoltaics.

patent denied

NJOY, LLC et al. v.JUUL Labs, Inc.

· IPR2024-00536

The PTAB denied institution of the IPR petition for NJOY against JUUL Labs, finding that Petitioner failed to demonstrate a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on obviousness grounds. The Board found insufficient motivation or reasonable expectation of success in combining various prior art references across multiple claims.

patent instituted

ADC Solutions Auto LLC et al. v.The Noco Company

· IPR2024-00577

ADC Solutions Auto LLC successfully petitioned for institution against The Noco Company's patent covering portable jump starter apparatuses. The Board found that the prior art presented in the petition was not substantially the same as what was before the Office during prosecution, satisfying the Advanced Bionics framework. This allows the case to proceed to substantive review on obviousness grounds (35 U.S.C. § 103).

patent instituted

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. v.EVONIK OPERATIONS GMBH et al.

· IPR2024-00611

Air Products successfully convinced the PTAB to institute an IPR on 23 claims of EVONIK's patent, finding a reasonable likelihood that at least Claim 1 would be obvious over Ungerank and Scholz. The Board rejected arguments that the prior art taught away from the claimed invention.

patent instituted

ADC Solutions Auto LLC et al. v.The Noco Company

· IPR2024-00671

ADC Solutions Auto LLC successfully convinced the PTAB to institute IPR proceedings against The Noco Company's jump starter patent (11584243). The Board found sufficient merit in Petitioner's obviousness challenges, despite Patent Owner invoking prior art estoppel.

patent denied

Voltage, LLC et al. v.Shoals Technologies Group, LLC

· IPR2024-00877

Voltage, LLC failed its IPR challenge against Shoals Technologies Group regarding photovoltaic connectors. The PTAB denied the petition, finding that the combination of prior art references lacked sufficient motivation to render the claims obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103.

patent instituted

Canadian Solar Inc. et al. v.Maxeon Solar Pte. Ltd.

· IPR2024-01040

Canadian Solar successfully convinced the PTAB to institute its IPR against Maxeon Solar, challenging claims related to solar cell fabrication. The Board found that Canadian Solar demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on multiple obviousness grounds over various prior art combinations. This sets up a high-stakes trial in advanced photovoltaic technology.

patent instituted

Hanwha Solutions Corporation v.Maxeon Solar Pte. Ltd.

· IPR2024-01203

Hanwha Solutions Corporation successfully navigated the institution phase of an IPR against Maxeon Solar Pte. Ltd., leading to a trial decision. The Board found that Hanwha demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on multiple claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, despite arguments regarding prior art scope and predictability.

patent instituted

Deltran USA LLC et al. v.The Noco Company

· IPR2024-01219

Deltran USA LLC et al. successfully petitioned to institute an IPR against The Noco Company's patent (11667203) covering jump start/battery charging systems. The Board found sufficient evidence of obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103, despite the Patent Owner's counterarguments regarding technical limitations.

patent instituted

Runergy Alabama Inc et al. v.Trina Solar Co. Ltd.

· IPR2025-00006

The PTAB institution decision granted the petitioner a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on all challenged claims related to solar cell technology. The grounds for obviousness centered on combining prior art references like Jin and Feldmann to achieve predictable improvements in TOPCon structure efficiency.

patent instituted

PacifiCorp et al. v.MES, Inc.

· IPR2025-00717

The PTAB institution decision found that the Petitioner successfully established a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on multiple claims against Birchtech Corp.'s patent. The grounds for unpatentability centered on obviousness (103) based on combining prior art related to pollutant removal from flue gas.

patent instituted

PacifiCorp et al. v.MES, Inc.

· IPR2025-00718

PacifiCorp et al. successfully convinced the PTAB to institute IPR proceedings against MES, Inc.'s patent (10926218) regarding pollutant removal from flue gas. The Board found a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on both anticipation and obviousness grounds based on multiple prior art references.

patent terminated or settled

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company et al. v.MES, Inc.

· IPR2025-00423

Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s power subsidiaries settled with Birchtech, leading the PTAB to terminate the IPR as to those petitioners while the case remains open for the remaining parties. The settlement agreement was deemed business‑confidential.

patent terminated or settled

PacifiCorp et al. v.MES, Inc.

· IPR2025-00717

Utility companies and BirchTech settled multiple IPRs covering power‑grid patents. The Board treated the settlement agreements as confidential and terminated the IPRs as to the settling petitioners, leaving the remaining petitioners in the proceeding.

patent instituted

ADC Solutions Auto LLC et al. v.The Noco Company

· IPR2025-00885

The PTAB granted ADC Solutions Auto’s petition to institute inter partes review of The Noco Company’s 11,584,243 B2 jump‑starter patent, finding a reasonable likelihood of unpatentability for several claims.

patent instituted

Deltran USA LLC et al. v.The Noco Company

· IPR2024-01219

The PTAB granted institution of an IPR against The Noco Company's 11,584,243 B2 jump‑starter patent. The petitioner, Deltran USA LLC, persuaded the Board that at least one claim is likely unpatentable based on obviousness over combinations such as Richardson + Zhao. All eight challenged claims are now subject to trial.

patent all challenged claims unpatentable

Deltran USA LLC et al. v.The Noco Company

· IPR2024-01219

The PTAB held that all eight challenged claims of the Noco Company’s jump‑starter patent are obvious over a combination of prior‑art references, rendering them unpatentable.

patent all challenged claims unpatentable

Deltran USA LLC et al. v.The Noco Company

· IPR2024-01219

The PTAB held that all seven claims of The Noco Company's portable jump‑starter patent are unpatentable, finding them obvious over prior‑art jump‑starter and USB‑charging references. The decision follows a petition by Deltran USA LLC asserting obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103.

patent terminated or settled

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company et al. v.MES, Inc.

· IPR2025-00280

The PTAB terminated the IPR against WEC Energy Group Inc. after the parties settled, while keeping the case alive for Berkshire Hathaway Energy and its affiliates.

patent all challenged claims upheld

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al. v.Molecular Rebar Design, LLC

· IPR2025-00359

Samsung’s IPR challenge to Molecular Rebar Design’s lithium‑ion battery patent was rejected; the Board found no unpatentable claims after concluding the petitioner’s obviousness arguments were unsupported.

patent instituted

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company et al. v.MES, Inc.

· IPR2025-00281

The PTAB instituted an inter partes review of MES’s 10,596,517 patent covering mercury‑removal sorbents after finding the petitioners’ obviousness and anticipation arguments credible.

patent all challenged claims unpatentable

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al. v.Molecular Rebar Design, LLC

· IPR2025-00358

Samsung successfully challenged all 16 claims of Molecular Rebar Design’s ’282 patent covering carbon‑nanotube binders for batteries. The Board found the claims obvious over prior art and adopted a construction that “discrete” does not require non‑attachment.

patent terminated or settled

PacifiCorp et al. v.MES, Inc.

· IPR2025-00424

Utility affiliates of Berkshire Hathaway Energy settled multiple PTAB IPRs, leading to the termination of the cases for the settling parties while the Board kept the proceedings open for the remaining petitioners.

patent terminated or settled

PacifiCorp et al. v.MES, Inc.

· IPR2025-00688

Utility consortiums including PacifiCorp settled IPRs covering several power‑grid patents, resulting in the termination of the proceeding for two petitioners while the Board kept the case open for the remaining parties. The settlement agreement was designated business‑confidential.

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