Patently Strategic - Patent Strategy for Startups ParkerVision v. Rule 36: The Battle for Dignity and Due Process
If a court stripped away your property rights, wouldn’t you at least want an explanation? The answer is obvious, but the reality is appalling. The practice of revoking patent rights on appeal without explanation has been happening to inventors at the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (CAFC) at an alarming rate. In over 43% of PTAB cases on appeal at the CAFC, inventors receive a single-word response – “AFFIRMED” – rather than an opinion. This practice is referred to as the application of Rule 36 and, in cases involving the PTAB, amounts to the seizure of property from an administrative agency without any reasoning provided by a constitutionally created Article III court.
Based on the findings of our guests today, who are taking this very issue up with the Supreme Court, Rule 36 violates clear statutory requirements, raises Constitutional questions, and defies a rich history of court precedent. Gene Quinn has said that this Federal Circuit Court practice is “placing America’s inventors under siege,” and friend of the podcast and former Chief Justice of the Federal Circuit, Paul Michel, has called this practice a “dereliction of duty” that “warrants immediate Supreme Court scrutiny.” Our guests this month – Jeff Parker, Amit Vora, and Juliette Fassett – are fighting hard to make that happen.
** Our Guests **
ParkerVision has filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court and recently submitted a reply brief in an attempt to get the Supreme Court to take up this innovation-crippling practice. In the coming days, the justices are scheduled to discuss the petition in private conference, where they will vote on whether to take the case.
To help us unpack Rule 36 practice and what ParkerVision is hoping to do about it, Dr. Ashley Sloat and I have enlisted the assistance of the three people closest to this case and its implications:
⦿ Jeffrey Parker, CEO of ParkerVision – an absolute pioneer in wireless technology.
⦿ Amit Vora, appellate litigator at Kasowitz Benson Torres, representing ParkerVision in its petition for cert with the Supreme Court.
⦿ Juliette Fassett from the Fair Inventing Fund, advocating for inventors’ rights. Juliette is an inventor herself, with over 30 years of experience building consumer product companies.
** Referenced Links **
⦿ ParkerVision's Cert: https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-518/331105/20241104163210189_No.%2024-_____%20Petition.pdf
⦿ Why Patents Exist w/ Professor Mossoff: https://www.aurorapatents.com/blog/why-patents-exist-with-adam-mossoff
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