The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges are unconstitutionally appointed, but that greater supervision by the PTAB director would solve the problem.
The opinion in the case followed a 2019 appeals court ruling in the closely watched patent spat between Arthrex and Smith+Nephew (NYSE:SNN). In the original lawsuit, Smith+Nephew and ArthroCare (which Smith+Nephew acquired in 2014) petitioned for inter partes review of a patent secured by Arthrex. Three patent judges concluded that the patent was invalid.
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