Go back and tell the PTAB to write clearer opinions

A couple of the Federal Circuit judges have expressed some frustration with certain recent PTAB opinions. During oral arguments, Judges Clevenger and Moore suggested to the PTO’s Solicitor’s Office that the PTAB could write clearer opinions.

In the oral argument of Smart Modular v. Iancu, Judge Clevenger had this to say about the “skinny” presentation in the PTAB opinion at issue:

In the oral argument of In re Lilleness, Judge Moore had this to say:

It is interesting to note that Judge Moore appears to be of the opinion that the Solicitor’s Office has some sort of supervisory power over the Board (“go back; send a memo to everybody in the Solicitor’s Office to never allow the Board to write opinions like this”). I think it is still an undecided issue as to whether the Director, let alone the Solicitor’s Office, can dictate to the PTAB how to decide cases.

Both cases were decided by Rule 36 Judgments, skinny in their own right.

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