Facebook Inc. v. Windy City Innovations LLC (Fed. Cir. Mar 18, 2020)

The Federal Circuit held that 35 U.S.C. § 315(c) does not authorize petitioners to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to join themselves as a party to an earlier filed inter partes review. CAFC also held that joinder of petitions may not be used as a means to add new issues to an earlier instituted inter partes review.

This is contrary to a PTAB Precedential Opinion Panel, Proppant Express Investments, from March 2019 which had indicated that parties can join their own petitions.

Read the case here.

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