By Kevin E. Noonan — The inter partes review (IPR) provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act have been castigated by many for the propensity of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to find claims challenged in these proceedings to be anticipated or obvious (albeit this outcome has been less frequent for technologies in chemical and life sciences patents). Perhaps one reason for this less predictable negative outcome in these technologies is the countervailing (to some extent) deference the Federal Circuit has been compelled to give Patent and Trademark Office decisions on factual questions (see Dickinson v. Zurko), and…
