Nix, Patterson assisted in the drafting and filing of a first-ever Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) amicus brief. The brief is filed in support of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and it’s assertion that sovereign immunity bars the PTAB from proceeding with an inter partes review (IPR) of patents owned by the Tribe. The brief represents the first time the PTAB has accepted amicus briefing in an IPR, and it addresses the novel issue of whether the PTAB can proceed with an IPR when a sovereign tribe owns the subject patent. Nix, Patterson is proud to support the rights of native Americans, and is grateful for the opportunity to work with such noteworthy legal scholars as Professors Laurence H. Tribe (Harvard), William N. Eskridge, Jr. (Yale), Erwin Chemerinsky (Berkeley), Joseph William Singer (Harvard), and David Orozco (Florida State University), along with attorney Jonathan Massey of Massey & Gail, LLP.
The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Amicus Brief may be viewed below:
12/01/2017