Judge Profile

Cynthia M. Hardman

51 IP cases indexed. Covers patent matters.

Cases Presided Over

51 cases indexed | Page 1 of 2

patent terminated or settled

ETN CAPITAL, LLC d/b/a BEECH LANE v.FBA Operating Co.

· IPR2024-01445

The IPR concerning patent 10,890,925 was terminated after the parties reached a settlement. The Board granted the joint motion to terminate and ordered the settlement agreement to be treated as confidential business information.

patent terminated or settled

Eunsung Global Corp. v.HydraFacial LLC et al.

· IPR2025-00452

Eunsung Global and HydraFacial settled their inter partes review disputes before the PTAB instituted a trial. The Board granted joint motions to terminate and to keep the settlement agreement confidential, ending the proceedings.

patent final

MPL Brands NV, Inc. v.BuzzBallz, LLC

· IPR2024-01098

The PTAB issued a final written decision finding all six claims of the '904 patent unpatentable. The Board determined that the claimed features were anticipated or obvious over prior art references (Kick, Ackermann, Kaminski, Hutchinson).

patent final

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. v.California Institute of Technology et al.

· IPR2024-01451

The PTAB issued a Final Written Decision rejecting all claims (1-19) of the '921 patent. The Board rejected arguments based on obviousness and novelty, particularly concerning multi-occupancy droplet detection in multiplexed biochemical assays.

patent all challenged claims unpatentable

MPL Brands NV, Inc. v.BuzzBallz, LLC

· PGR2024-00035

MPL Brands NV successfully convinced the PTAB that all 20 claimed claims of the patent were unpatentable. The Board found obviousness over multiple prior art references, including PCAN, Metzger, and Kaminski, in a final decision.

patent denied

Dexcom, Inc. v.Abbott Diabetes Care Inc.

· IPR2024-00520

Dexcom failed to convince the PTAB that Abbott's glucose monitoring patent was unpatentable based on obviousness grounds. The Board denied institution, finding insufficient evidence across multiple prior art combinations.

patent instituted

Dexcom, Inc. v.Abbott Diabetes Care Inc.

· IPR2024-00521

Dexcom successfully petitioned to institute an IPR against Abbott Diabetes Care Inc.'s glucose monitoring patent (11298056). The Board found a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on grounds of obviousness (103) for claims 13 and 29.

patent instituted

TikTok Inc. et al. v.Cellspin Soft, Inc.

· IPR2024-00767

TikTok Inc.'s challenge to Cellspin Soft's patent was instituted by the PTAB, finding a reasonable likelihood that at least one challenged claim is unpatentable. The Board focused on obviousness (35 U.S.C. § 103) over prior art references including Hiroishi, Kahn, and Bluetooth specifications. This decision sets up trial proceedings to determine if the combination of existing technologies renders the patent claims invalid.

patent instituted

TikTok Inc. et al. v.Cellspin Soft, Inc.

· IPR2024-00768

TikTok Inc. successfully navigated the institution phase of an IPR against Cellspin Soft, Inc., leading to a decision that reasonable likelihood of unpatentability was established for claims 1-10 over Singh129 and Singh906. The Board found that Petitioner adequately demonstrated material error in prior art consideration during prosecution regarding Ground 2.

patent instituted

TikTok Inc. et al. v.Cellspin Soft, Inc.

· IPR2024-00769

TikTok and its affiliates successfully petitioned for institution in an IPR against Cellspin Soft regarding wireless communication patents. The Board found a reasonable likelihood of unpatentability based on obviousness over multiple prior art references, including Singh129/Singh906 and Kahn/Bluetooth.

patent instituted

TikTok Inc. et al. v.Cellspin Soft, Inc.

· IPR2024-00770

TikTok Inc. successfully convinced the PTAB to institute IPR proceedings against Cellspin Soft, Inc.'s patent covering Bluetooth data transfer and content publishing. The Board found sufficient evidence that the claims are obvious over various combinations of prior art references.

patent denied

MPL Brands NV, Inc. v.BuzzBallz, LLC

· IPR2024-01000

The PTAB denied MPL Brands NV's request to institute Inter Partes Review against BuzzBallz LLC's patent. The denial was based on the IPR petition being filed prematurely while a concurrent Post-Grant Review proceeding was active.

patent instituted

MPL Brands NV, Inc. v.BuzzBallz, LLC

· IPR2024-01098

MPL Brands NV successfully petitioned to institute IPR against BuzzBallz, LLC regarding container design patents. The Board found a reasonable likelihood of unpatentability based on anticipation and obviousness over prior art references like Kick. Trial is now pending for the challenged claims.

patent denied

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. v.California Institute of Technology et al.

· IPR2024-01178

The PTAB denied Bio-Rad Laboratories' request for rehearing regarding the denial of institution in IPR2024-01178, upholding its finding that the petitioner failed to meet the burden of proving unpatentability.

patent instituted

LifeScan, Inc. et al. v.Cellspin Soft, Inc.

· IPR2025-00102

The PTAB granted institution for an IPR challenge against Cellspin Soft's patent (11234121), asserting obviousness over multiple prior art references. Petitioners, including LifeScan and Senseonics, successfully argued that the claims were rendered obvious by combinations of existing wireless technology standards and academic publications.

patent instituted

LifeScan, Inc. et al. v.Cellspin Soft, Inc.

· IPR2025-00103

LifeScan and co-petitioners successfully convinced the PTAB to institute trial on all 15 claims of patent 9900766 against Cellspin Soft, Inc. The Board found sufficient evidence that the claimed multimedia content distribution methods were obvious over various combinations of prior art references, including Singh906, Kahn, and Bluetooth specifications.

patent instituted

LifeScan, Inc. et al. v.Cellspin Soft, Inc.

· IPR2025-00104

LifeScan successfully petitioned the PTAB to institute an IPR against Cellspin Soft's patent, asserting that the claimed wireless data transmission methods are obvious over various combinations of prior art. The Board found a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on multiple grounds, moving the dispute into active review proceedings.

patent denied

Ascentcare Dental Products, Inc. v.Solmetex, LLC

· IPR2025-01104

Ascentcare Dental Products, Inc.'s IPR petition against Solmetex, LLC's dental device patent was denied by the PTAB. The Board ruled that Petitioner failed to provide sufficient evidence regarding obviousness over prior art references like Black and Park/Baughan/Johnson.

patent denied

Nexus Pharmaceuticals LLC v.Exela Pharma Sciences, LLC

· PGR2024-00016

Nexus Pharmaceuticals' PGR challenge against Exela Pharma Sciences was denied institution because the arguments regarding enablement, written description, and obviousness were largely identical to those previously presented during prosecution. The Board found that the Patent Owner successfully demonstrated how process controls overcome prior rejections, leading to a denial of the petition under § 325(d).

patent instituted

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC v.Halozyme, Inc. et al.

· PGR2025-00004

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC successfully petitioned the PTAB against Halozyme, Inc.'s '298 patent covering modified PH20 polypeptides. The Board granted institution despite challenges based on Written Description and Enablement, allowing the dispute to proceed to trial.

patent instituted

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC v.Halozyme, Inc. et al.

· PGR2025-00006

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC successfully challenged Halozyme, Inc.'s claims regarding modified PH20 polypeptides in a PTAB decision. The Board instituted trial based on enablement and written description grounds, finding that the broad genus of claimed molecules required undue experimentation to identify active variants.

patent instituted

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC v.Halozyme, Inc. et al.

· PGR2025-00009

The PTAB instituted the PGR petition challenging Halozyme's patent covering modified PH20 polypeptides. The Board found that the claims were not sufficiently supported by the specification regarding enablement and obviousness, despite Petitioner's arguments about the genus size.

patent instituted

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC v.Halozyme, Inc. et al.

· PGR2025-00017

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC successfully challenged Halozyme, Inc.'s patent on enablement and obviousness grounds in a PTAB decision. The Board found that the patent documents supported a broad definition of modified PH20 polypeptides, while noting the petitioner had established a likelihood of prevailing on enablement but failed to prove obviousness.

patent instituted

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC v.Halozyme, Inc. et al.

· PGR2025-00024

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC successfully challenged Halozyme, Inc.'s '590 patent on grounds of enablement and obviousness. The PTAB found the claims were overly broad regarding polypeptide scope, requiring undue experimentation for a skilled artisan.

patent instituted

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC v.Halozyme, Inc. et al.

· PGR2025-00030

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC successfully petitioned for institution in a PGR proceeding against Halozyme, Inc., challenging the '758 patent on grounds of enablement and obviousness. The Board adopted a broad claim construction for 'modified PH20 polypeptide,' which significantly broadened the scope of the challenged claims.

patent instituted

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC v.Halozyme, Inc. et al.

· PGR2025-00033

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC successfully challenged Halozyme, Inc.'s patent claims on grounds of enablement and obviousness. The Board ruled that the claimed modified polypeptides must exhibit hyaluronidase activity, narrowing the scope of the genus. This decision sets a precedent for interpreting functional limitations in polypeptide patents.

patent instituted

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC v.Halozyme, Inc. et al.

· PGR2025-00039

Merck Sharp & Dohme successfully challenged Halozyme's patent claims in a PGR proceeding, focusing on enablement and obviousness. The Board adopted a functional claim construction requiring 'modified PH20 polypeptide' to exhibit hyaluronidase activity.

patent terminated or settled

Eunsung Global Corp. v.HydraFacial LLC et al.

· IPR2025-00445

HydraFacial and Eunsung Global settled their IPR dispute before the Board could institute a trial. The joint motion to terminate was granted, and the settlement agreement was kept confidential.

patent instituted

ResMed Corp. v.Cleveland Medical Devices, Inc.

· IPR2025-00246

ResMed Corp. successfully challenged Cleveland Medical Devices' sleep apnea monitoring patent via IPR, arguing the claims were obvious over combinations of prior art references. The Board found a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on at least one claim, leading to institution.

patent instituted

ResMed Corp. v.Cleveland Medical Devices, Inc.

· IPR2025-00247

ResMed Corp. successfully convinced the PTAB to institute IPR proceedings against Cleveland Medical Devices regarding a patent covering sleep disorder treatment/CPAP systems. The Board found that ResMed demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on Grounds 1-3, which centered on obviousness (35 U.S.C. § 103).

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