Court overturns Apple’s patent win in Corephotonics dispute over flawed review
A US appeals court has overturned a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) ruling in Apple Inc. v. Corephotonics, LTD. The case centred on two key disputes over how the PTAB handled inter partes review (IPR) proceedings. Both issues led to the court vacating the board’s earlier decision and sending the case back for reconsideration.
The first issue involved the PTAB’s interpretation of a technical phrase in the patent. The court ruled that the board had incorrectly limited the meaning of 'fused image with a point of view of the Wide camera' to just one example in the patent’s description. In reality, the specification covered multiple embodiments, making the PTAB’s narrow construction flawed.
The decision means the PTAB must re-examine the patent dispute without relying on its previous, flawed interpretations. Corephotonics and Apple will have the opportunity to present their arguments again under the corrected legal framework. The outcome could now shift depending on how the board applies the court’s guidance.
