Judge Profile

Michael J. Fitzpatrick

52 IP cases indexed. Covers patent matters.

Cases Presided Over

52 cases indexed | Page 2 of 2

patent instituted · Jul 26, 2024

Avanos Medical, Inc. v.Stratus Medical, LLC

· IPR2024-01209

Avanos Medical successfully petitioned to institute IPR proceedings against Stratus Medical's patent, demonstrating a reasonable likelihood of success on obviousness grounds. The Board found sufficient evidence that the claimed RF neurotomy features could be achieved by combining existing prior art references.

patent final · Jul 26, 2024

Avanos Medical, Inc. v.Stratus Medical, LLC

· IPR2024-01212

The PTAB found all 29 challenged claims unpatentable by a preponderance of evidence. The Board rejected the Patent Owner's argument that the invention was limited to RF neurotomy, adopting Petitioner's broader view of 'thermal ablation systems.'

patent final · Jul 26, 2024

Avanos Medical, Inc. v.Stratus Medical, LLC

· IPR2024-01211

The PTAB found that the claims were unpatentable over Racz, Fitz, and Lee based on obviousness (103). The Board adopted Petitioner's broad definition of 'thermal ablation systems,' rejecting the Patent Owner's narrow focus on 'RF neurotomy.'

patent Final Written Decision · Jul 26, 2024

Avanos Medical, Inc. v.Stratus Medical, LLC

· IPR2024-01210

The PTAB issued a Final Written Decision finding that Claims 1-17 and 48-52 are unpatentable based on obviousness. The Board found that the combination of prior art references (Racz, Fitz, Lee) was an obvious modification to create functional RF neurotomy devices.

patent Final Written Decision · Jul 26, 2024

Avanos Medical, Inc. v.Stratus Medical, LLC

· IPR2024-01209

The PTAB issued a Final Written Decision finding all 27 challenged claims unpatentable based on obviousness over prior art (Racz, Fitz, Lee). The Board adopted the Petitioner's broad definition of POSA in the field of thermal ablation systems.

patent terminated or settled · Jun 21, 2024

Medela LLC et al. v.M.E.A.C. Engineering Ltd.

· IPR2024-01076

Medela and M.E.A.C. Engineering settled their IPR dispute over patent 8,858,534 B2. The Board terminated the proceeding before any trial, keeping the settlement confidential.

patent instituted · Jun 13, 2024

Inari Agriculture, Inc. v.Corteva Agriscience LLC et al.

· IPR2024-01014

Inari Agriculture successfully petitioned to institute an IPR against Corteva Agriscience's GMO patents based on prior art from Barbour. The Board found a reasonable likelihood of prevailing regarding anticipation and obviousness over the cited publication, moving the case toward trial.

patent final · Jun 13, 2024

Inari Agriculture, Inc. v.Corteva Agriscience LLC et al.

· IPR2024-01014

The PTAB Board upheld the validity of U.S. Patent No. 8,901,378 B2 after finding that the TC1507 germplasm was publicly available prior to the application's filing date. The Board concluded that this availability satisfied priority requirements and prevented Barbour from qualifying as prior art under § 102.

patent denied · Jun 11, 2024

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. v.Nike, Inc.

· IPR2025-00144

Skechers' IPR challenge against Nike regarding knit textile footwear was denied by the PTAB. The Board found no reasonable likelihood of prevailing on obviousness grounds, despite adopting the patent owner's claim construction for 'article of footwear.'

patent denied · Jun 11, 2024

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. v.Nike, Inc.

· IPR2025-00143

The PTAB denied institution of an IPR petition filed by Skechers against Nike, finding the claims lacked reasonable likelihood of prevailing based on obviousness grounds (103). The Board adopted the Patent Owner's narrow construction of 'article of footwear,' which was critical to the denial.

patent all challenged claims upheld · May 17, 2024

Duration Media v.Rich Media Club LLC

· IPR2024-00937

The PTAB affirmed all ten claims of the ’329 ad‑viewability patent, finding Duration Media failed to prove obviousness over Krassner, Badros, and Harkins. Claim constructions on “render,” “replacement advertisement,” and the “in‑response‑to” step were adopted.

patent denied · May 17, 2024

Duration Media v.Rich Media Club LLC

· IPR2024-00937

The PTAB denied the institution of Inter Partes Review (IPR) against Rich Media Club LLC's advertising patent. The Board found that Petitioner Duration Media lacked a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on grounds of obviousness (103).

patent denied · May 11, 2024

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. v.Nike, Inc.

· IPR2025-00150

Skechers U.S.A., Inc.'s IPR challenge against Nike, Inc.'s footwear patent was denied by the PTAB due to failure to meet the reasonable likelihood of prevailing standard. The Board rejected key claim constructions and found that prior art references did not adequately disclose the claimed integral knit tongue feature.

patent denied · May 11, 2024

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. v.Nike, Inc.

· IPR2025-00151

Skechers U.S.A., Inc.'s IPR challenge against Nike, Inc.'s footwear patent was denied by the PTAB. The Board found that Petitioner failed to meet the threshold burden of showing a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on any unpatentability challenge.

patent denied · May 11, 2024

New Balance Athletics, Inc. v.Nike, Inc.

· IPR2025-00020

New Balance Athletics, Inc.'s IPR petition against Nike's footwear patent was denied by the PTAB. The Board found that Petitioner failed to demonstrate a reasonable likelihood of prevailing in its obviousness challenges over multiple prior art references.

patent terminated or settled · May 6, 2024

Solventum Corporation v.M.E.A.C. Engineering Ltd.

· IPR2024-01001

Solventum Corporation and M.E.A.C. Engineering reached a settlement that led to the termination of IPR2024-01001 before any trial was instituted. The Board granted the motion to terminate and ordered the settlement agreement to remain confidential.

patent terminated or settled · May 6, 2024

Solventum Corporation v.M.E.A.C. Engineering Ltd.

· IPR2024-01002

Solventum Corp. filed an IPR against M.E.A.C. Engineering’s patent 8,858,534. The parties settled before the Board could institute a trial, leading to a termination order.

patent denied · Apr 29, 2024

New Balance Athletics, Inc. v.Nike, Inc.

· IPR2024-00778

New Balance Athletics' IPR challenge against Nike's footwear patent was denied by the PTAB. The Board rejected arguments of anticipation and obviousness, particularly regarding claim scope limitations like 'article of footwear.'

patent all challenged claims upheld · Apr 11, 2024

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. v.Nike, Inc.

· IPR2025-00141

Nike's footwear knitting patent survived Skechers' IPR challenge. The Board found no unpatentable claims after rejecting the obviousness arguments based on Reed and Nishida references.

patent instituted · Apr 11, 2024

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. v.Nike, Inc.

· IPR2025-00141

The PTAB institution of IPR2025-00141, filed by Skechers against Nike, moves forward to challenge the patent's validity on grounds of anticipation (102) and obviousness (103). The Board found that Petitioner demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing after vacating an initial discretionary denial.

patent denied · Apr 11, 2024

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. v.Nike, Inc.

· IPR2025-00141

The PTAB denied Skechers' petition for IPR against Nike, finding that the petitioner failed to demonstrate material error regarding prior art already considered by the Examiner. This decision reinforces the strict application of the Advanced Bionics standard in discretionary denial proceedings.

patent terminated or settled · Mar 25, 2024

Intersect ENT, Inc. et al. v.New Amsterdam, LLC

· IPR2024-00713

Intersect ENT and New Amsterdam settled their IPR dispute over U.S. Patent 6,916,483, filing a joint motion that led the PTAB to terminate the proceeding before trial.

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