On March 24, 2022, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion in Hunting Titan, Inc. v. Dynaenergetics Europe GMBH, affirming — on a procedural technicality — a precedential decision of a Precedential Opinion Panel (POP) of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that granted a motion to amend claims in an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding. The interesting part of the Federal Circuit opinion is the extensive discussion, particularly in the concurring opinion, of the PTAB’s ability to raise unpatentability grounds sua sponte.
