IPR Trial: What Comes Next?
It's a safe bet that none of us has ever been through an Inter Partes Review Trial before the USPTO, so we don't have a sense of how this goes. But the PTAB issued a revised Scheduling Order on January 31st. You can read it here:
Scheduling Order for IPR Trial Before PTAB on Patent 8,383,086
The dates are:
April 20, 2018
Dartmouth/ChromaDex's Response to the petition and/or Motion to Amend the patent. You will recall that Steptoe filed a Preliminary Response in November. So this would be the actual response, and it would no doubt take into account the various issues raised in the PTAB's order instituting trial.
July 9, 2018
Elysium's Reply to Dartmouth/ChromaDex's Response and/or Elysium's Opposition to a motion to amend the Patent.
August 10, 2018
Dartmouth/ChromaDex's Reply to Elysium's opposition to a motion to amend.
August 31, 2018
Motions for cross-examination, to exclude evidence, and for oral argument
September 14, 2018
Response/opposition to motions
September 21, 2018
Reply to opposition to motion to exclude
October 2, 2018
Oral argument (if requested)
We can't take these dates too seriously, because the parties are free to agree to change them, although not move them later than September 21, 2018.
My guess is that both parties have great incentive to slow walk this, so I doubt things will happen much faster than indicated here.
These are the attorneys noticed on the scheduling order:
ELYSIUM
FOLEYHOAG LLP
Brendan T. Jones, Esq.
Donald R. Ware, Esq.
Jeremy A Younkin, Esq.
DARTMOUTH/CHROMADEX
STEPTOE AND JOHNSON LLP
John L. Abramic, Esq. James R. Nuttall, Esq. Harold H. Fox, Esq.
If we get bored waiting for April 20, we might take a closer look at these patent hotshots, but rest-assured we are in the major leagues.