Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
I am Rolf Claessen and you are listening to episode 168 of our podcast IP Fridays! My co-host Ken Suzan has interviewed Wole Araromi about the registration and enforcement of trademarks in Nigeria.
But before we jump into this great interview, I have news for you:
The U.S. patent system is currently undergoing significant changes. The new USPTO Director, John Squires, is taking a hands-on approach to the inter partes review (IPR) process. As of October 20, he announced that he will personally decide on all IPR and post-grant review (PGR) cases, removing this authority from the PTAB panels. At the same time, the USPTO published a proposed rule introducing mandatory exclusion criteria for IPR petitions. These measures—accompanied by a wave of discretionary denials since early 2025—are aimed at strengthening the position of patent holders and limiting review procedures that have often favored defendants. In practice, this is expected to significantly reduce the number of new IPR filings and marks a politically driven policy shift in favor of patent owner rights.
Meanwhile, U.S. patent legislation remains in flux. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has announced that he will reintroduce the RALIA bill (“Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act”). If passed, it would bring sweeping changes: the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), established only in 2012, would be abolished, the U.S. system would revert to a first-to-invent regime, and the automatic publication rule for patent applications would be repealed. According to Massie, the goal is to roll back what he views as harmful reforms of the past decade and provide stronger protections for inventors. However, observers doubt whether this proposal has any realistic chance of becoming law—competing bills like the Patent Eligibility Reform Act are already more advanced, and full abolition of the PTAB is seen by many as politically unfeasible.
On the international stage, a novel patent dispute over FRAND licenses made headlines. For the first time, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the Munich Regional Court issued an “anti-interim-license” injunction in favor of patent holder InterDigital, aiming to prevent Amazon from obtaining a compulsory license in the UK. The response from London was swift: the High Court (Mr. Justice Meade) issued an “anti-anti-suit injunction,” prohibiting InterDigital from interfering with Amazon’s license proceedings in the UK. This cross-border legal standoff over standard-essential patents (SEPs) illustrates the increasing complexity between the UPC and national courts in the global FRAND litigation landscape.
There was also a noteworthy win for patent holders in Germany. In a patent infringement case concerning refill cassettes for diaper disposal systems, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court upheld an injunction against a Polish imitator. The company Sonesta and its former managing director were prohibited from offering the film refill sets in Germany without clearly indicating that their use was only allowed with permission from the patent holder (Angelcare/IRC). Notably, the court confirmed the personal liability of the former managing director, as she had acted as the responsible seller on the sales platform. This ruling strengthens the rights of patent owners and highlights that even individuals can be held liable if they knowingly facilitate IP-infringing conduct in a managerial role.