Matthew J. Dowd Analyzes PTAB’s Seeming Immunity to Deadlines in New Law360 Article

In this article, Matthew J. Dowd analyzes the Federal Circuit’s recent decision in the Purdue Pharma LP v. Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc. appeal (available at https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13689904742848828873&q=Purdue+Pharma+LP+v.+Collegium+Pharmaceutical+Inc.+&hl=en&as_sdt=20000006). A key issue in the decision concerned the statutory deadline by which the PTAB must issue its final written decision.  The case’s unique timeline involved a bankruptcy proceeding, which extended the PTAB’s deadline.  Despite this extension, the PTAB still failed to comply with the deadline. On appeal, the Federal Circuit ruled that the PTAB was not required to end the proceeding, even though the PTAB had blown by its deadlines.  Besides being difficult to reconcile with Congress’s intent to ensure that AIA proceedings are completed in a timely manner, this ruling raises serious questions about the timeline of post-grant proceedings and the effectiveness of the PTAB. This decision adds further skepticism of the patent system for patent owners and innovators.’

A copy of the article is available here https://www.law360.com/articles/1782282/fed-circ-ruling-seemingly-offers-ptab-deadline-immunity