PTAB Says Copyright Notice Alone Doesn't Make Out A Printed Publication

The PTAB denied institution of inter partes review in IPR2016-01083, Microsoft Corporation v. Corel Software, Inc., because the petitioner – Microsoft – failed to establish that a software reference manual that was part of its sole ground of unpatentability was a printed publication. Microsoft relied upon two pieces of evidence in support of its claim that the software reference manual was a printed publication – (1) a copyright notice on the reference manual; and (2) a printout from an electronic card catalog system called WorldCat maintained at the University of Toronto.

Whether a prior art document qualifies as a printed publication requires a showing that the reference was "sufficiently accessible to the public interested in the art." In re Cronyn, 890 F.2d 1158, 1160 (Fed. Cir. 1989). Microsoft alleged in its petition that the copyright notice on the software reference manual was prima facie evidence of its publication date and thus its public accessibility, and