In a highly anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board could reconsider and cancel patent claims through inter partes review without violating Article III or the Seventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Inter partes reviews provide a mechanism for challenging one or more claims of a patent on the grounds that the claim is not novel or nonobvious on the basis of prior art patents or printed publications. The process has been criticized based on the position that patent claims should only be able to be challenged in an Article III court before a jury. In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that inter partes reviews do not violate Article III or the Seventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The decision clears the road for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to continue reviewing challenged claims of already-issued patents.
