The PTAB decided today, in IPRs 2015-01092, 2015-01096, 2015-01102, 2015-01103, and 2015-01169, that Patent Owner Celgene failed to meet the evidentiary burden required for its Motions for Sanctions against the Coalition for Affordable Drugs VI, LLC. The PTAB specifically rejected each of Celgene’s bases for seeking sanctions:
- Profit Motive: “Profit is at the heart of nearly every patent and nearly every inter partes review. As such, an economic motive for challenging a patent claim does not itself raise abuse of process issues. We take no position on the merits of short-selling as an investment strategy other than it is legal, and regulated.”
- Lack of Competitive Interest: “Congress did not limit inter partes reviews to parties having a specific competitive interest in the technology covered by the patents.”
- Purpose of AIA: “The AIA was designed to encourage the filing of meritorious patentability challenges, by any person who is not the patent owner, in an effort to further improve patent quality. H.R. Rep. No. 112-98, pt. 1, at 85 (2011). In the Motion, Patent Owner does not allege that Petitioner filed a non-meritorious patentability challenge.”