Fed. Circ. Asked To Nix PTAB's Power To Start AIA Reviews

By Ryan Davis

Law360, New York (March 1, 2016, 6:13 PM ET) -- A Johnson & Johnson unit urged the full Federal Circuit Monday to strip the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the authority to decide whether America Invents Act reviews should be instituted, saying Congress never intended the board to make both institution decisions and final validity rulings.

Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. made the argument in a petition for en banc rehearing of a January panel ruling upholding a PTAB decision that invalidated an Ethicon patent on a surgical stapler challenged by Medtronic unit Covidien LP.