Discretionary denial at the PTAB continues to evolve, and a
recent decision by the USPTO Director adds another important
dimension. In denying institution of an IPR, the Director concluded
that foreign governments are not “persons” eligible to
seek IPR and that even minority government ownership can raise
threshold eligibility concerns. Read together with the
Director's October 2025 decision restoring strict
real‑party‑in‑interest disclosure requirements,
the ruling underscores that access to PTAB review increasingly
turns on who is behind the petition, not just the merits of the
challenge.
Return Mail Applied to Foreign Governments
The decision arose from an inter partes
review (IPR) petition filed by Tianma Microelectronics Co., Ltd.
challenging a patent owned by LG Display Co., Ltd. LG Display
sought discretionary denial based on
real‑party‑in‑interest (RPI) issues, arguing that
Tianma was partially owned by entities ultimately controlled by the
Chinese
