No. 24-866

Converter Manufacturing, LLC v. Tekni-Plex, Inc.

Lower Court: Federal Circuit
Docketed: 2025-02-13
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Tags: administrative-law burden-of-proof patent-enablement patent-validity prior-art statutory-interpretation
Key Terms:
Patent Trademark JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2025-05-22
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the patent challenger bears the burden of proving enablement of prior art under Sections 102 and 103 of the Patent Act

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

The statutory safeguard in Title 35 of the United States Code (the “Patent Act”) that prohibits patents on technologies like the teleportation beam from “Star Trek” or the time traveling flying Delorean from “Back to the Future” is the enablement requirement of Section 112. This Court instructs a near identical standard to be used to determine enablement of patent claims under Section 112 and enablement of printed prior art under Sections 102 and 103. See Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi , 598 U.S. 594, 605 -06 (2023) (“ Sanofi ”) (enablement of patent claims); Seymour v. Osborne , 11 Wall. 516, 555 (1870) (“Seymour ”) (enablement of prior art). The Federal Circuit holds to the contrary and erroneously chooses to treat these standards v ery differently. See Rasmusson v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. , 413 F.3d 1318, 1325 (Fed. Cir. 2005). Presently, the Federal Circuit interprets Sections 102 and 103 as presuming all printed prior art is enabling and placing the burden on the patentee to overcome that presumption. In re Antor Media Corp. , 689 F.3d 1282, 1287 -88 (Fed. Cir. 2012). This effective presumption of invalidity is irreconcilable with Seymour and the presumption of patent validity mandated by Sections 282 and 316(e) of the Patent Act. The Federal Circuit’s recent adoption of the USPTO’s administrative agency interpretation of Sections 102 and 103 further requires patentees to prove printed prior art can never be enabled. Together, these legal errors stack the already formidable o dds against patentees saving their patents from invalidity in all forums. The questions presented in this petition are: 1. Whether the patent challenger always has the burden of prov ing that the disclosures in an ii asserted prior art patent or printed publication are enabl ing of the claimed subject matter under Sections 102 and 103 of the Patent Act . 2. Whether the standard for proving a prior art patent or printed publication enabl es claimed subject matter under Sections 102 and 103 of the Patent Act is the one set forth in this Court’s holding in Seymour v. Osbourn , 11 Wall. 516, 555 (1870) . 3. Whether this Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision prohibits the Federal Circuit from deferring to the USPTO’s interpretation of the law of prior art enablement by silently adopting that interpretation using Fed. R. App. P. 36.

Docket Entries

2025-05-27
Petition DENIED.
2025-05-06
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/22/2025.
2025-04-30
Reply of Converter Manufacturing, LLC submitted.
2025-04-30
2025-04-16
Brief of Tekni-Plex, Inc. in opposition submitted.
2025-04-16
2025-03-04
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including April 16, 2025.
2025-03-03
Motion of Tekni-Plex, Inc. for an extension of time submitted.
2025-03-03
Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 17, 2025 to April 16, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
2025-02-10
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 17, 2025)

Attorneys

Converter Manufacturing, LLC
Joseph A. FarcoNorris McLaughlin, P.A., Petitioner
Tekni-Plex, Inc.
Diane Siegel DanoffDechert LLP, Respondent