On December 20, 2019, WilmerHale achieved a victory on behalf of Hulu, LLC at the recently-created Precedential Opinion Panel (POP) at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The POP was created to decide issues of exceptional importance to the PTAB, such as issues involving agency policy or procedure. This POP review was only the second which has been granted.

WilmerHale’s post-grant proceedings team successfully requested a POP review of a significant question at issue in a petition for inter partes review that had been denied by the PTAB. The POP granted the review to examine the issue of what is required for a petitioner to establish that an asserted reference qualifies as “printed publication” at the institution stage. Following oral arguments in June, the POP issued a decision on December 20, granting WilmerHale’s request for rehearing, and the case has now been remanded to the merits panel.

The WilmerHale team is led by Dave Cavanaugh and includes Scott Bertulli.