Automated Merchandising Systems, Inc. v. Lee
Addressing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's
(PTO's) refusal to terminate four inter partes
reexaminations after a corresponding district court action was
terminated, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
explained that the PTO's refusal to terminate was not subject
to review while the reexaminations were still in progress.
Automated Merchandising Systems, Inc. v. Lee, Case No.
14-1728 (Fed. Cir., Apr. 10, 2015) (Taranto, J.)
Automated Merchandising Systems (AMS) filed a lawsuit against
Crane Co. asserting infringement of four patents related to vending
machines. Years into the case, Crane filed requests for inter
partes reexamination against the asserted patents. The PTO
granted the requests and initiated reexaminations. While they were
pending, AMS and Crane settled the lawsuit, and the district court
entered a judgment noting that the parties stipulated to the
validity of the patents. AMS then asked
