Womble Bond Dickinson client DynaEnergetics Europe GmbH’s precedent-setting victory in a long-running dispute with an energy industry rival was named one of IP Law360’s 10 Biggest Patent Rulings of 2020.
On July 6, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s Precedential Opinion Panel ruled that a PTAB panel had overstepped its authority by considering patent invalidity arguments not advanced by Hunting Titan Inc. in its dispute with DynaEnergetics. The DynaEnergetics v. Hunting Titan case is just the fourth case that the panel has reviewed, and the first related to a Final Written Decision. The ruling by the Precedential Opinion Panel sets the precedent that the PTAB may not, beyond limited and rare circumstances, advance invalidity grounds that are not raised by the petitioner. The case is currently up on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Womble Bond Dickinson attorneys Barry Herman, Christy Dupriest, Preston Heard, Will Hubbard, and Julie Giardina, former firm attorneys Brent Babcock and Ana Friedman, and co-counsel Lisa Moyles and Jason Rockman of Moyles IP, represented DynaEnergetics in the Precedential Opinion Panel review.