Not Crossing The Wire: Petitioner Merely "Expanded" On Previously Filed Arguments Rather Than Making "New" Arguments

Holding

In Everstar Merchandise Co. Ltd. v. Willis Electric Co. Ltd., No. 2021-1882, 2022 WL 1089909 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 12, 2022) (non-precedential), the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ("the Federal Circuit") vacated a Final Written Decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("the PTAB") in PGR2019-00056. The PTAB found that Everstar failed to show the challenged claims of Willis' patent were unpatentable as obvious. The Federal Circuit held that the PTAB abused its discretion when it refused to consider whether cost reduction would have motivated one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the asserted references, and vacated and remanded the PTAB's decision.

Background