A Federal Circuit panel on Friday examined whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) improperly blocked Simpson Strong-Tie Co. Inc.’s attempt to challenge the validity of claims that were corrected during a post-grant review. The panel also discussed whether these corrected claims could be addressed in district court.
Simpson argues that the PTAB wrongly rejected its request to challenge the validity of claims for which Columbia Insurance Co. had received a certificate of correction. Simpson contends this refusal violated the Administrative Procedure Act and hindered its effort to invalidate certain claims from Columbia’s construction hanger patent.
Scott Eidson, representing Columbia, told the panel that Simpson had an opportunity to request relief from the PTAB but failed to do so. “At no point did they seek accommodations from the board to raise any additional argument related to those claims,” Eidson said.
However, Simpson’s attorney, Richard Crudo, countered, stating that his client had requested to brief the effect of the certification of correction, but the board had made it clear they would not entertain the issue. “This is really the crux of the APA violation,” Crudo argued.
