On July 27, 2018, the Federal Circuit issued an opinion vacating the GoPro, Inc. decision discussed in the post below.
On June 11, 2018, the Federal Circuit issued a decision vacating and remanding the Medtronic decision discussed in the post below.
An updated discussion of the Medtronic decision is available here:
PTAB Failed to Properly Apply Test for Printed Publication
Two recent PTAB decisions highlight important developments in qualifying a publication as a reference, available as prior art. In one case, the PTAB concluded that a printed catalog did not qualify as a printed publication prior art because it was distributed only at a private tradeshow to persons not necessarily skilled in the art. In the other case, the PTAB concluded that a video and associated slide presentation did not qualify as printed publications because these materials were distributed only to experts at a private, invitation-only conference. These decisions interpret precedents from the Federal Circuit and offer simple examples of what type of publications may not qualify as prior art.