By Kevin E. Noonan — While the Federal Circuit’s decision last fall in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc. raised issues about the appointment of Administrative Patent Judges (APJs) serving on the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), it should be remembered that it also wiped out a PTAB decision in favor of Smith & Nephew in the underlying inter partes review of Arthrex’s U.S. Patent No. 9,179,907 on anticipation grounds (which, given the deferential nature of Federal Circuit review on factual issues, the challenger had every expectation the PTAB decision would be affirmed). At the end of June,…
