“PTAB Judge Appointments Rules Unconstitutional by Federal Circuit”

By: Partner Tom Sullivan

Article published in General Counsel News

In Arthrex v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., issued October 31, 2019, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the appointment of Administrative Patent Judges, charged with presiding over proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, was unconstitutional. While this decision will require fundamental changes the way APJs may be removed from office, similar cases in recent years suggest that the changes need not significantly disrupt the business of the PTAB.

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