On June 16, 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit decided Microsoft Corp. v. Proxyconn Inc., which
is the Federal Circuit's first decision reversing an inter
partes review determination by the US Patent and Trademark
Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Given the increased
filing of IPR petitions, the intellectual property community has
closely watched to see how much deference the Federal Circuit will
accord the PTAB's decisions.
The Proxyconn case is thus historic insofar as it's
the first time that the court has reversed a PTAB decision
invalidating claims in an issued patent. This decision also
provides some insights into how the Federal Circuit will review
appeals from PTAB decisions in future IPR proceedings, including
how to apply the "broadest reasonable interpretation" and
the propriety of the judge-made rules for amending claims.
