Ex parte reexamination on behalf of third-party results in PTO rejection of claims

On behalf of a third-party requester, Finnegan initiated ex parte reexamination proceedings against a patent owned by Ablaise Ltd. The patent had been asserted against numerous companies including several of our clients. The firm’s representation in the reexamination resulted in the PTO finally rejecting claims 1-6 of the patent. The pending reexamination allowed the firm to successfully obtain a stay of the litigation proceedings by Ablaise against Financial Fusion. After reexamination had been granted, the District Court of the District of Columbia also found the same claims invalid, and that decision was affirmed on appeal to the Federal Circuit.