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ARTICLE · 31 JANUARY 2025

When Is A Published Patent Application Prior Art In An IPR?

Jones Day
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On appeal from an inter partes review ("IPR"), the Federal Circuit held that, under pre-America Invents Act ("pre-AIA") law, a published patent application is prior art as of its filing date as opposed

United StatesIntellectual Property
Adam J. Cook
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On appeal from an inter partes review ("IPR"), the Federal Circuit held that, under pre-America Invents Act ("pre-AIA") law, a published patent application is prior art as of its filing date as opposed to its later date of publication. The Court based its decision on a finding that the term "printed publications" as used in the IPR statute is temporally agnostic. Specifically, whether a piece of prior art achieves printed publication status does not affect its section 102 effective prior art date. See Lynk Labs, Inc. v. Samsung Elecs. Co., No. 2023-2346, 2025 WL 85559, at *8 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 14, 2025).

On November 12, 2021, Samsung Electronics ("Samsung") filed a petition for IPR of U.S. Patent No. 10,687,400 ("'400 Patent") owned by Lynk Labs ("Lynk"). See Lynk Labs, Inc. v. Samsung Elecs. Co., No. IPR2022-00149, Paper 1 (P.T.A.B. Nov. 12, 2021). The '400 Patent discloses various LED circuits and drivers. See U.S. Patent No. 10,687,400. The PTAB

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