Federal Circuit weighs sanctions authority against AIA institution bar
By Melissa Ritti ( May 8, 2026, 21:00 GMT | Insight) -- A series of recurring themes emerged during oral argument Friday in the dispute between VLSI Technology, Intel Corp. and Patent Quality Assurance, with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit repeatedly questioning whether the issue before it centers on reviewable sanctions or institution decisions insulated from appellate scrutiny.The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Friday seemed skeptical, at times, that VLSI Technology can challenge the US Patent and Trademark Office’s handling of allegedly abusive inter partes reviews (IPRs) without also implicating institution decisions Congress made non-appealable in Section 314(d) of the America Invents Act....
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