Macronix files petitions with USPTO

HSINCHU, TAIWAN: Macronix International Co. Ltd announced that it has filed petitions with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for inter partes review, challenging the validity of each of the patents Spansion has asserted against it in US.

The Macronix petitions provide the USPTO with information and/or evidence that the Spansion patents cover technology that was previously invented, published and/or obvious to others in the field, which was not disclosed in Spansion's patent applications.

The petitions also provide specific examples and explanations showing that the Spansion's patents asserted against Macronix are invalid due to prior art patents or printed publications that were available to the public before Spansion filed its patent applications and ask the USPTO to cancel all claims of each of those six patents.

The petitions have been assigned case numbers IPR2014-00103, IPR2014-00104, IPR2014-00105, IPR2014-00106, IPR2014-00107, and IPR2014-00108 and are available to the public at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's website, selecting "Direct Link" and then selecting "Search for a proceeding / Browse the proceedings." An initial decision of the above petitions may be expected from the USPTO before the ITC decision filed against Macronix by Spansion.

Inter parties review is a new type of proceeding that became available on September 16, 2012 for challenging the validity of patents issued by the USPTO. Inter parties reviews are conducted before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, which has the authority to cancel invalid patent claims.