Aqua Products, Inc. v. Matal

TARANTO, Circuit Judge,

joined by PROST, Chief Judge, and CHEN and HUGHES, Circuit Judges, dissenting from the judgment, and joined in part in other respects by DYK and REYNA, Circuit Judges.

Most of this opinion sets forth a full analysis supporting the following two legal conclusions that are joined by a majority of the court—the four Judges signing on to this opinion in full and Judges Dyk and Reyna. First, in an inter partes review (IPR), 35 U.S.C. § 316(a) authorizes the Director of the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to address who has the burden of persuasion on the patentability of…