The Federal Circuit provided new guidance regarding the scope of
joinder under 35 U.S.C. § 315(c). In Facebook, Inc.
v. Windy City Innovations, LLC, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 8522,
*10-12 (Fed. Cir. 2020), the Court addressed two issues of
statutory interpretation: (1) whether 35 U.S.C. § 315(c)
permits a person to be joined as a party to a proceeding in which
it was already a party ("same party" joinder); and (2)
whether it permits new issues to be added to an existing IPR
through joinder ("new issue" joinder), including issues
that would otherwise be time-barred. Id. at *10.
The Court answered both questions in the negative, contrary to a
decision rendered by the PTAB's Precedential Opinion
Panel. See id. at *10-12. The Federal Circuit
found "[t]he clear and unambiguous text of § 315(c) does
not authorize same-party joinder, and does not
authorize the joinder of new issues." Id. at
*12 (emphasis added).
