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`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
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`GENERAL ORDERLIFTING
`GENERAL ORDER IN CASES REMANDED UNDER
`ARTHREX, INC. V. SMITH & NEPHEW, INC.,
`941 F.3D 1320 (FED. CIR. 2019)
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`GENERAL ORDER
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`Before SCOTT R. BOALICK, ChiefAdministrative Patent Judge.
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`BOALICK, ChiefAdministrative Patent Judge.
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`As explained in the General Order in Cases Remanded Under Arthrex,
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`Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., 941 F.3d 1320 (Fed. Cir. 2019) (“General
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`Order in Remanded Cases”), the United States Court of Appeals for the
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`Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) issued numerous Ordersinstructing the
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`Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) to conduct proceedings on remand
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`consistent with the Federal Circuit’s Arthrex decision. To avoid burdening
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`the Office and the parties until all appellate rights had been exhausted, the
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`General Order in Remanded Cases wasissued, suspending the requirements
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`of the Board’s Standard Operating Procedure 9 in cases remandedby the
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`Federal Circuit underits Arthrex decision, and holding all such cases in
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`administrative abeyance until the Supreme Court of the United States
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`(“Supreme Court”) acted on a petition for certiorari or the time forfiling
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`such petitions expired.
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`General Order Regarding Arthrex-Related Remands
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`On June 21, 2021, the Supreme Court vacated the Federal Circuit’s
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`judgmentin Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc. and remandedto the
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`Acting Director for him to decide whether to rehear the Board’s final written
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`decision. United States v. Arthrex, Inc., 141 S. Ct. 1970, 1987-88 (2021).
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`The Supreme Court subsequently granted petitions for certiorari in other
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`cases in which the Federal Circuit remanded to the Board for proceedings
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`consistent with the Federal Circuit’s Arthrex decision, vacated the Federal
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`Circuit’s judgment in those cases, and remanded them for further
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`consideration in light of United States v. Arthrex, Inc. See Iancu v. Luoma,
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`No. 20-74 (June 28, 2021); Jancu v. Fall Line Patents, LLC, No. 20-853
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`(June 28, 2021); Hirshfeld v. Implicit, LLC, No. 20-1631 (Oct. 18, 2021).
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`Nowthat the Supreme Court has acted on petitions for certiorari in
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`cases that were previously remandedto the Board under the Federal
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`Circuit’s Arthrex decision, the General Order in Remanded Casesislifted.
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`Those cases are no longer in administrative abeyance.
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`ORDER
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`It is therefore ORDEREDthat the General Order in Remanded Cases
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`has been lifted and the subject cases are no longer in administrative
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`abeyance.
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`Scott R. Boalick~
`Chief Administrative Patent Judge
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