Apple Inc., et. al v. Gesture Technology Partners, LLC (March 4, 2025) (Moore (Chief Judge), Prost and Stoll) (on appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board) [WAIVER; OBVIOUSNESS]
The Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB's Final Written Decision that 29 of 31 claims of Gesture Technology Partners's patent no. 7,933,431 ("the ʼ431 patent") are unpatentable under § 103, and that two claims are not unpatentable because (1) Gesture had forfeited its standing argument and (2) PTAB properly applied the obviousness standard and considered all evidence.
For the first time on appeal, Gesture argued that Apple lacked standing on the grounds that 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(1) bars Apple's IPR because Apple is a member of Unified Patents, LLC, and is therefore a real party in interest to Unified's earlier-filed IPR against the ʼ431 patent. The Court held that Gesture had forfeited this argument by failing to raise it before the Board.
The Court rejected Apple's arguments that the two remaining claims should be found obvious because the Board ignored evidence and misapplied the obviousness legal standards, finding "there is no requirement that the Board expressly discuss each and every negative and positive piece of evidence lurking in the record."
The Federal Circuit was also not convinced by Gesture's arguments that the Board erred in finding 29 claims obvious, holding that substantial evidence supports the Board's decision, and that the Board properly construed the claims according to the plain and ordinary meaning. The Court also noted that it has already rejected Gesture's arguments that the Board lacks jurisdiction over IPRs concerning expired patents, including the ʼ431 patent, in Apple Inc. v. Gesture Technology Partners, LLC, 127 F.4th 364, 368–69 (Fed. Cir. 2025).
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