Overview
Steptoe partner Kate Cappaert and associate Matthew O'Boyle were quoted in Law360 discussing how the US Patent and Trademark Office has made claim construction consistency a central issue by denying or ending patent reviews when challengers fail to justify differences between their positions in court and at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The article examines how these recent decisions emphasize how petitioners must clearly explain any inconsistent claim interpretations, signaling a stricter stance that is reshaping how reviews are evaluated and argued.
Kate advised that petitioners should be "monitoring to see what is and what isn't working in terms of arguments in front of the director, and then assessing your case in view of those." Matthew additionally warns that "the problem with inconsistent claim construction at the PTAB isn't necessarily new: that argument’s kind of been going on for a while. But with Director Squires, in his position now, he’s kind of taking this hard-line stance on it. So that’s why we're seeing it come up all the time."
