Uncertainty in US Patent Cases Following the Arthrex Decision
John O'Quinn and Hannah Bedard authored an article regarding contested issues and answered questions after the Federal Circuit's 2019 decision in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., and its effects on pending cases.
"On 31 October 2019, in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc. (2019), a panel of the Federal Circuit held that administrative patent judges (APJs) who serve on the Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) had been improperly serving as "principal officers" within the meaning of the US Constitution and thus struck down the Patent Act's removal protections in order to make the APJs removable at-will and cure the purported constitutional defect."
