Relief from Final Judgment after Administrative Patent Invalidation

摘要

A number of recent Federal Circuit decisions have held that the United States Patent and Trademark office "PTO" may invalidate a patent that has previously withstood validity challenge in federal court. However, these decisions have not settled whether a final judgment of infringement may be set aside based on subsequent administrative invalidation of the underlying patent. In fact, some opinions have acknowledged possible constitutional concerns related to finality and separation of powers with such a situation.