What is Settled And What Are Our Expectations After iRhythm?

The March 26, 2025, memo from the US Patent and Trademark Office director significantly changed the way the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) handles institution decisions by establishing a bifurcated process under which the acting director—rather than panels of administrative patent judges—decides all discretionary denial issues. That memo not only invoked existing discretionary denial doctrines (e.g., Fintiv), but it also added several new “relevant considerations,” including so-called “[s]ettled expectations of the parties, such as the length of time the claims have been in force.”