by Dennis Crouch
In his first Director Review decision, new USPTO Director John Squires has gone the extra mile -- in addition to granting director review and reversing the Board's decision favoring the patent challenger, Dir. Squires also ordered immediate termination of the proceedings based upon unreliable expert testimony. This more dramatic termination is important because that looks more like a withdrawal of institution which is not appealable.
Interactive Communications Int’l, Inc. v. Blackhawk Network Inc., IPR2024-00465. [IPR2024-00465 Director Review Decision]
Blackhawk's challenged U.S. Patent No. 11,488,451 a method for selling pre-printed lottery tickets through a retailer’s existing point-of-sale (POS) terminals without requiring specialized lottery hardware. Instead of printing a new ticket at a dedicated lottery terminal, the system uses pre-manufactured tickets that carry unique identifiers and are activated when scanned and paid for at checkout. This framework allows the pre-printed ticket itself (once activated) to serve as the legal lottery instrument, while enabling lottery sales across all checkout lanes without specialized installations.