This unlawful “taking” occurred, according to the lawsuit, when the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) invalidated claims pursuant to the post-grant proceedings created in the America Invents Act (“AIA”), including Inter Partes Review (“IPR”) and Post-Grant Review (“PGR”) proceedings (together, “post-grant proceedings” or “PGPs”). These PGPs have been used by the USPTO to invalidate patents at an alarming rate, and Christy, Inc. and other patent holders seek just compensation for the taking of patent owners’ recognized patent property rights by the United States. More specifically, the lawsuit seeks money damages for the value of the patent claims, including any expected royalty and other payments for use of the patented technologies, the issuance and maintenance fees paid, and any investments made in the patented technologies.
The case also seeks damages for the United States’ breach of contract for its failure to maintain in force the subject patent claims, including the recovery of attorney fees expended defending those same patents in PGPs. And because the United States contends these patents were issued “erroneously” by the USPTO in the first place, Christy, Inc. contends all issue and maintenance fees paid were exacted by the government and should be returned. Any individual or entity that owns a patent for which one or more claims were invalidated in an IPR or PGR proceeding is eligible for the class action. If you would like to join this class action, please contact us to discuss your options.
Heninger Garrison Davis, LLC, is a national law firm, and our attorneys defend valuable intellectual property rights for our clients.
To determine if you should file suit, consult one of our qualified lawyers as soon as possible to understand your options. We do not charge any fees upfront. In fact, we will only charge attorney’s fees if we obtain a financial settlement for you. If you do not win, we get nothing. Call us today for your free case evaluation 1.855.228.1929 or visit www.hgdlawfirm.com/uspto-class-action or www.usptoclassaction.com.
Case Name: CHRISTY, INC. v. USA
Case Number: 1:18-cv-00657-MMS
Link to the Complaint: 2018-05-09 [1] Complaint
PGPs: Costing Individuals, Businesses, and the American Economy
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”), which carries out PGPs for the USPTO, has even been labeled the “patent death squad” due to the extremely high number of patent claim cancellations it has executed. The PTAB has invalidated a staggering 77% of patent claims that have come before it. These post-issuance proceedings are estimated to have caused damage to the US economy equaling one trillion dollars.
Meanwhile, the USPTO is profiting from patent owners’ payments of issuance and maintenance fees and is estimated to have made an additional $140 million in correcting its own mistakes through the PTAB. Furthermore, PGP petitioners (those trying to get patents revoked) are actually eligible for certain reimbursements, while patent owners are still forced to suffer financial
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