US presses Supreme Court to leave IPR criteria to USPTO discretion
By Melissa Ritti ( September 14, 2026, 18:50 GMT | Comment) -- A filing by the federal government in support of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s “settled expectations” policy goes beyond patent age to argue that because Congress never required inter partes review institution, thwarted petitioners generally cannot use mandamus to test whether a director relied on an impermissible statutory factor. That position could leave office leadership with wide latitude to establish institution criteria that are difficult, if not impossible, to challenge in court.Google LLC’s effort to secure appellate review of a US Patent and Trademark Office refusal to consider its administrative challenge to a software containerization patent should be rejected, the federal government told the US Supreme Court on Friday....
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
- Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
- Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
- Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
- Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline
Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.